A WEEK before the midterm polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday ordered the accounting of all national and local candidates facing disqualification cases.
Elections chairman George Garcia said he wants the cases analyzed, so the poll body can determine “which have strong evidence so that we can look at the possibility of suspending their proclamation, if necessary.”
He said that so far, there are almost 400 pending disqualification cases involving allegations of vote buying and abuse of state resources.
The Comelec has previously said that it is prepared to suspend the proclamation of candidates with pending disqualification complaints until the cases are resolved.
“We will need to know if the case has merit. If there is merit, we can suspend proclamation,” he has said.
Meanwhile, the poll body’s Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) has issued Resolution No. 2025-001 approving the use of the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC), the Secure Electronic Transmission Services (SETS), and the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS).
“The TEC resolves to issue this certification, that based on the recommendation from Pro V&V, together with the documented results, considering the extent the sub-systems were evaluated, the AES can operate properly, securely, and accurately,” it said in the five-page resolution.
Under the Poll Automation Law, the TEC is required to certify and categorically state that the AES to be used “is operating properly, securely, and accurately, in accordance with the provisions of the law.”
Garcia welcomed the TEC certification, saying it fortifies what the Comelec has been saying all along.
“There is no more doubt that the systems we will use on Election Day will properly function,” he said, as he urged critics of the poll body to give the 2025 AES a chance to prove its worth.
“Of course, we want the elections to be orderly, peaceful, credible, and trustworthy,” he said.
At the same time, Garcia said no major issues have been reported so fair in relation to the ongoing Final Testing and Sealing (FTS) of he automated counting machines.
“So far, since May 2, there have been no major technical problems detected. There were only some minor administrative issues, such as misplaced wires, which were later found,” he said.
The FTS of all automated counting machines are expected to be completed by May 7.
Under the law, there must be a final examination and testing of the VCMs to be used in each polling precinct.
After the final testing and examination, the VCMs shall be closed and sealed by the Electoral Boards, and will only be opened on Election Day.
