Manila, April 4 -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) deployed on Friday the first batch of automated counting machines (ACMs) to be used for the May 12 polls to three areas in Mindanao.

Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said 3,700 ACMs were deployed from their Binan, Laguna warehouse to their regional hubs in Iligan City, Kidapawan City, and Zamboanga City.

"We are distributing them in our different hubs. From there, our local Comelec personnel will just get them," he said in an interview.

The Iligan City hub will house ACMs for Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, and Iligan City while the hub in Kidapawan City will store ACMs for Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and Cotabato City.

On the other hand, the Zamboanga City hub ...