Another 10,000 PCOS machines has been delivered to the Comelec today, even as news points to possible delays in the printing of ballots if the Supreme Court overturns previous decisions by the poll body to disqualify a number of candidates.

This morning, some 10,400 PCOS or Automated Counting Machines will be delivered at the door step of the Commission on Elections at the Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila.

The current tally of PCOS machines is:

On-Hand / Warehouse                                   =             15,300-pcs

For delivery to warehouse tomorrow    =             10,400-pcs

In-Transit/Sailing (awaiting ETA)             =               4,800-pcs

Awaiting Shipping Docs/Delivery             =             51,700-pcs

Meanwhile, news has come out that the printing of the ballots (an essential component to the 2010 automated polls) may face delays as the Supreme Court's decides on protest cases over the disqualification of a number of candidates.

Here is an excerpt from a report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections raised the possibility the Supreme Court would overturn the former’s rulings on disqualified candidates after the ballots had been printed and “throw a monkey wrench” on the preparations for the automated elections in May.

Comelec Chair Jose Melo on Tuesday voiced this apprehension during a National Security Council (NSC) meeting convened by President Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacañang to map out a consensus on ensuring credible elections.

“One problem that was identified is the issue of the disqualification cases, which the Comelec raised. Until these cases are finalized, it’s very difficult to print ballots,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in a briefing.

“What if it has already printed say 10 ballots, and the five or 10 candidates that had been disqualified go to the Supreme Court and are reinstated? That’s what they fear,” Remonde said.

While the issue was beyond its jurisdiction, the NSC believed that the high tribunal would sustain the Comelec’s rulings on the disqualification cases, precluding any reprinting of ballots, Remonde said.

“There was an expression of the sense of the bipartisan, multipartisan National Security Council that the Supreme Court will be persuaded not to throw a monkey wrench into their preparations,” he said.