THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said the May 2025 midterm polls was not conducted perfectly, but that it was better than previous electoral exercises.
In a press conference, Comelec chairman George Garcia said they believe that more improvement can be done based on what transpired yesterday.
“There is still a lot of things to be done. A lot of learnings and matters to be done and enhanced. An election is never perfect,” Garcia said.
He said, though, that Monday’s polls was better compared to previous elections primary due to the absence of any failure of elections across all polling precincts.
“We don’t have any failure of elections, whatsoever. All polling precincts functioned,” he said.
Garcia said, though, that they have extended the voting period in 15 polling precincts after their official ballots weren’t read by the automated counting machines (ACMs).
“There are issues in their ballots because their timing marks are unclear and weren’t read by the machines. We had ordered their reprinting for the 15 precincts in different areas of the country,” said Garcia.
He said they are looking to deploy the official ballots today to allow voting to commence in the said areas.
Garcia said 311 ACMs required replacement of contingency machines due to various issues, which include their scanners (77), thermal printer (73), thermal cutter (60), and thermal paper (35).
“Compared to 2022, a total of 2,500 (machines) needed to be replaced,” he said.
Garcia that despite the glitches experienced, the innovations they adopted, particularly the early voting for senior citizens and persons with disability and mall voting, proved to be effective.
“Many voters benefited from our innovations,” he said.
He also said they are optimistic that the voter turnout could be higher than the 2019 midterm polls.
“It cannot be denied… the people trooped to the precincts. They voted. It is usually 63 to 65 percent voter turnout during midterm elections. If we reach 70 percent turnout, then it is a success,” said Garcia.
CANVASSING
With voting in the entire country almost completed, Garcia said they expect election results to be transmitted as early as last night.
He also said canvassing at the local levels may be completed by Wednesday.
“At the municipal level, they can probably proclaim the winners tonight (Monday). In the provinces, they can probably do it by Tuesday or Wednesday,” he added.
At the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), he said they are expecting to commence with the canvassing today.
“Once we have certificates of canvass by (today), we can begin canvassing,” he said.
Garcia said they are hoping to finish the canvassing of votes for senators and party-list organizations within the week.
“Hopefully, we can do it in five to six days, but a little longer for the party-list,” he said.
The Comelec said the public may see the election returns from every polling precincts via the website: https://2025electionresults.comelec.gov.ph/dashboard.
“You can monitor the transmission there… in real time, you can see the results in every polling precinct,” Garcia said.
‘SMOOTH AND PEACEFUL’
The National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) said yesterday’s polls was “smooth and peaceful” based on initial observations on the ground.
In its preliminary report, the group noted that polling precincts opened on time, with no significant delays observed.
“Namfrel observers reported that, in general, the conduct of the elections has been smooth and peaceful so far, with most polling places opening on time, no significant delay in the start of voting, with the electoral boards as well as the machines and election paraphernalia complete in most polling places observed,” it said.
It added that electoral Boards (EBs) appear well-prepared,” citing their “adequate handling of the process inside the polling places.”
The poll watchdog observed that there appeared to be a high voter interest, especially in urban areas, noting the presence of regular voters as early as 5 in the morning.
“This morning’s activities are characterized by a high turnout of voters, especially in urban areas, with voters lining up in the hundreds outside many voting centers even before the polls opened for early voting at 5 a.m.,” Namfrel said.
“As of 11:30 am, Namfrel observers reported high voter turnout in more than 83 percent of voting centers observed,” it added.
Namfrel said its preliminary observations cover the opening procedures and the first few hours of voting, including arrangements inside voting centers.
It said it will submit a final report to the Comelec regarding its complete findings and observation, while identifying areas that could be further strengthened, and recommending measures to help ensure the conduct of safer and more efficient electoral exercises.
VOTING MACHINE GLITCHES
Meanwhile, the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) noted multiple issues involving the automated counting machines, and unlawful activities that marred the conduct of the May 12 polls.
In a statement, Lente said it observed recurring technical issues involving the ACMs in several areas in the country, such as in Tarlac, Ilocos Sur, Cagayan, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Aklan, and Lanao Del Norte.
“The most common problem involved sensitive scanners that frequently rejected ballots. In these instances, the Electoral Board had to temporarily pause operations to clean the scanner, resulting in delays and long queues,” Lente said.
“Voters were allowed to fill out their ballots, but were informed that their ballots would be temporarily set aside and fed into the ACM once operational,” it added.
It also said it received field reports from the CALABARZON about a vehicle that displayed a candidate’s campaign tarpaulin and was parked within the premises of a voting center.
“Similarly, at Lupon Elementary School in San Jacinto, Pangasinan, Lente observed the distribution of campaign flyers just outside the polling site,” it added.
The poll watchdog also said it got a report that an assistor inside a polling place in San Jose Del Monte City in Bulacan coerced illiterate voters to vote for the candidates found on the flyers.
Lente said it deployed 1,200 volunteers over 500 voting centers across 70 provinces, 60 cities, and close to 200 municipalities to monitor yesterday’s polls.
MANUAL AUDIT
The Comelec is set to kick off tomorrow the Random Manual Audit (RMA) of 762 clustered precincts and one online voting post at the Citadines Bay City Manila in Pasay City.
The Comelec – RMA Committee (RMAC) said they are looking at completing the manual audit of the votes for senator, party-list, congressman, and mayor in 45 days.
The Comelec unit conducted the electronic raffle for the random selection of clustered precincts and online voting post at the Tent City of the Manila Hotel.
Election laws mandate the manual checking of the precinct vote count results generated by the voting machines used in the elections.
Back in the May 2022 polls, the vote counting machines (VCMs) was found to be 99.95 percent accurate in reading the official ballots.
DEPED
Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) said it received 160 reports of election-related concerns from its field offices nationwide.
The DepEd monitored the conduct of elections through its Election Command Center in Makati City which was activated on Sunday, May 11.
Most of the reported concerns involved issues with the automated counting machines, missing names on the voter’s list, and health-related concerns of teachers and support staff manning the polling precincts.
“Ang mga ulat ay kaagad na tinutugunan sa koordinasyon ng Comelec, PNP, at iba pang mga katuwang na ahensya upang masiguro ang maayos, ligtas, at tapat na halalan
(The reports provided were immediately addressed in coordination with the Comelec, PNP, and other agencies to ensure an orderly, safe, and honest elections),” DepEd said in a brief statement.
The department’s Election Task Force is also coordinating with regional and division-level task forces to ensure a “swift response to any incident involving the welfare and safety of the teachers and support personnel” doing election-related duties.
The DepEd Election Command Center will remain operational until 5 p.m. today.
There are approximately 758,549 poll workers manning voting precincts and doing other election-related duties nationwide. Of these, 281,587 are DepEd personnel.
BUCOR
The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) yesterday said more than 4,000 inmates at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City and six other operating prison and penal farms participated in yesterday’s midterm polls.
Data from the BuCor showed that most of the inmates who were able to vote were from the Bilibid with 2,135; followed by 924 from the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, and 421 from the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte.
There were 290 inmate-voters at the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City, and 140 at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan.
Meanwhile, 123 women inmates at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong, and 92 from the CIW in Mindanao were also able to vote.
Garcia and several foreign observers visited the NBP yesterday mid-morning to check on the inmates’ voting.
The BuCor said the elections inside their prison and penal institutions were done manually. – With Ashzel Hachero
