MILITANT lawmakers yesterday sought a congressional investigation into what they said were more than 1,500 anomalies that attended the conduct of the automated May 12 national and local midterm elections.
Party-list Reps. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan), France Castro (ACT) and Arlene Brosas (Gabriela) filed House Resolution 2291 urging the appropriate House committee to look into what they described as the “anomalous” Automated Election System (AES) and other election-related anomalies.
The resolution, which was filed as the 19th Congress is set to adjourn next month, was based on reports of independent electoral watchdogs and advocates like Kontra-Daya, Vote Report PH, the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Computer Professionals Union (CPU), among others, which have flagged as many as 1,593 alleged election violations.
“The 2025 national and local midterm elections was plagued with various issues – ranging from major technical anomalies to massive voter disenfranchisement – as reported by election watchdog groups and pro-people technology advocates,” the resolution said.
Kabataan, in a separate statement, said: “We believe that an investigation should be pursued, and that all persons or agencies that are proven to be complicit must be held accountable for disenfranchising and invalidating the votes and democratic aspirations of millions of Filipino voters.”
The resolution cited Kontra-Daya’s report regarding the “failure of democratic integrity” in the midterm polls, citing “systemic fraud, disenfranchisement and institutional complicity.”
It noted that Kontra Daya and Vote Report PH tallied 1,593 verified election violations: 798 issues with the automated counting machines (ACMs), 200 on illegal campaigning, 144 cases of voter disenfranchisement and 451 other violations, including non-compliance by the Board of Election Inspectors, red-tagging, election-related violence and harassment, vote-buying and selling, tampering of ballots and disinformation.
On the other hand, the lawmakers said the CPU has identified “glaring technical issues that compromise the integrity of the automated system, raising concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the election results.”
They pointed out that Miru Systems, the Comelec’s main supplier for the midterm elections, while having been previously involved in international controversies, was awarded the contract despite initially having been disqualified.
They added that the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) for overseas voting lacked a voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT), which potentially violated Republic Act No 9369 (amended Election Automation Law of 2007) and “disenfranchising voters who could not verify their votes, leading to historically low voter turnout in some overseas regions.”
They also noted the discrepancy between the software version certified by Pro V&V, Inc. and the version installed in the ACMs on Election Day, which raised questions about the integrity of the source code and potential tampering “for which the Commission on Elections provided inconsistent and unsatisfactory tampering explanations.”
These were on top of the numerous reports of malfunctioning ACMs, paper jams, and ballots being collected without confirmation of scanning disenfranchised local voters on Election Day, which caused long lines and potentially invalidating thousands of votes.
The resolution also cited Namfrel’s discovery of an unprecedented 17,028,780 and 3,315,487 “overvotes” for senatorial and party-list positions, respectively, saying the Comelec’s explanation was “logically flawed and does not adequately address the concerns regarding potential machine malfunctions, counting errors or voter confusion.”
“Beyond technical issues and voter disenfranchisement on Election Day itself, there have been other election-related issues before, during, and after the elections that have marred the integrity and credibility of the election results,” the lawmakers said.
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Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said the poll body is ready to answer the lawmakers’ questions.
In a short statement, Laudiangco said: “Comelec is ready to appear before Congress if and when called upon to lay down facts and showcase the milestones of the most successful, fastest-ever in counting, and transmission of votes, canvassing and proclamations, most peaceful electoral exercise, highest-ever voter turn-out national and local elections in numbers.”
Responding to specific questions thrown by the Makabayan bloc, Laudiangco said they have long responded in detail to such allegations, including claims of technical problems and alleged voter disenfranchisement attending the last elections.
“As to the issues, we echo our answers and explanations,” he said.
As to revived calls from lawmakers for the use of a hybrid election system, the poll official said they are leaving the matter to Congress.
The hybrid election system uses manual counting on the precinct level and automated transmission for canvassing.
“As we had fully complied with the full automation requirements of these laws, Comelec equally commits to fully comply with any new law on elections should any be passed by Congress,” said Laudiangco. – With Gerard Naval
