COMELEC Vouch for Transparency, Honest, Clean, Orderly Elections

The Commission on Elections vouched for transparent, honest, clean and orderly National and Local Elections on May 12, 2025.

This was the assurance released by COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia during the Forum on Election Operations with Automated Counting Machine (ACM), April 29, 2025 at Davao Convention Center.

The event was organized by the Archdiocesan Citizens Engagement Committee (ACE-COM), the recognized citizens arm of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in the Archdiocese of Davao comprised by the Archdiocesan Social Action Center (ASAC) and Davao Association of Catholic School (DACS).

In his keynote Message, COMELEC Chair Garcia explained the process of voting using the ACM with features that upholds transparency and integrity in the exercise of suffrage.

Aside from these features, he added that COMELEC has been vigilant in protecting the dignity of the election process by monitoring social media posts of election activities.

Highlight of the FORUM was a lecture and demonstration on the ACM by Director John Rex Laudiangco, Director IV, Education and Info. Department, COMELEC.

After the lecture and demonstration, several attendees were given ballots to fill out and make actual voting and feeding of ballot in the ACM up to the verification stage.

During the Open Forum, Chairman Garcia clarified that the ACM is precinct based and will not read ballots from other precincts.

However, one of the issues raised during the Open Forum was the placement of Starlink Network that will be used in areas where there are no internet signal for the transmission of the election returns to the transparency servers of the PPCRV, NAMFREL, Major and Minor Political Parties and the Media located in Makati.

However, he said that in case failure of transmission or breakdown of machine, there are standby IT personnel for any breakdown but the whole ACM will be transferred to City Hall for transmission.

Garcia also revealed that this election, transmission will be simultaneously commenced at 7:00pm while the printed summary of the ACM will be posted outside of the precinct and may be photographed.

The Forum was well attended by the invited sectoral groups including media persons who flocked to Chairman Garcia during the press conference.

The full coverage of the event was livestreamed on DXGN 89.9 SPIRIT FM-DAVAO and may be reviewed anytime.