MANILA, Philippines - Teachers took turns in operating the Precinct Count Optical Scan Machines during the start of training for members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) which will run for the whole month of March.

They simulated the whole automation process from the initialization of machines, voting, counting and transmission of results.

A total of150,000 teachers nationwide will undergo the training.

Comelec director for personnel Adolfo Ibañez says the training is wide in scope and is aimed at imparting technical skills appropriate for the electoral process.

This is the first opportunity for most teachers to actually see and operate the PCOS machine.

Aurea Abella, a teacher of Almario Elementary School, says that at first, she was a bit apprehensive about the computerized system.

"Nung una, natakot talaga kame pero ang madali lang pala, saka konti lang ang steps," she says.

Each batch of teachers will be trained for a 2-day period.

The first day is devoted to lectures and demonstrations on the proper handling and operation of the PCOS machine.

The second is for written and practical examinations under the auspices of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

The DOST will certify teachers who will pass the tests as information technology (IT)-capable, a requirement provided in the automation law.

Only 2 of the 3-member Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) shall undergo the training because of budget constraints, which is why a detailed training material has been printed.

This contains all processes surrounding the automated polls:

• election do's and don'ts;
• a historical background on elections in the country; and,
• differences between the old manual and the new automated elections.

The teachers' training will cost the Comelec around P1 billion.

Each teacher will receive an allowance of P2,000 as agreed by the Comelec and the education department.

This is apart from the honorarium BEI's will receive for actual election day duties.