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Mayen Jaymalin - The Philippine Star
June 3, 2025 | 12:00am
An undated photo of an automatic counting machine used for the 2025 midterm elections.
Philippine Information Agency
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections on Sunday assured the public of the integrity of the May 2025 midterm polls, reporting a near-perfect accuracy rate for automated vote counting, even as it stood firmly behind two commissioners facing calls to defer their confirmation.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia announced that the ongoing Random Manual Audit (RMA), mandated by law to verify the accuracy of vote counting machines, showed a 99.996 percent accuracy rate in audited clustered precincts.
“So far, we have conducted manual audits on more than 400 clustered precincts out of the total number subjected to RMA,” Garcia disclosed. “So far, so good.”
In the 2022 national elections, the automated system recorded a 99.95 percent accuracy rate.
The audit is expected to be completed by June 28.
Dispute
Meanwhile, the Comelec Employees Union expressed its “full and unequivocal” support for the confirmation of Commissioners Noli Pipo and Norina Casingal, citing their “sterling background and top-notch insider experience.”
In a letter addressed to Senate President and Commission on Appointments (CA) chairman Francis Escudero, the union stressed that both commissioners’ expertise in election laws would be vital for the upcoming Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections and the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
“As election frontliners, we dare say that with Chairman George Garcia at the helm, the honorable CA’s confirmation of Commissioner Pipo and Casingal will result in the best Commission ever,” the union said.
However, the Duterte Youth party-list earlier urged the CA to defer the confirmation of the two commissioners, criticizing their role in signing a resolution that suspended the party-list’s proclamation despite its electoral victory.
“Their act of signing to delay the proclamation of a duly elected candidate with an overwhelming mandate from the Filipino people gives the CA a glimpse on what these commissioners will do if they are confirmed,” the party-list group said.
In response, Garcia defended the National Board of Canvassers’ supervisory committee, which is now facing a graft complaint filed by Duterte Youth before the Office of the Ombudsman.
He clarified that the committee merely recommended the suspension of the proclamation and did not make the final decision.
