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FINAL TESTING. Members of the Board of Election Inspectors, along with representatives of candidates and party-list groups, conduct the final testing and sealing of automated counting machines, at the Melencio M. Castelo Elementary School in Quezon City on May 5, 2025.
Jire Carreon/Rappler
The Technical Evaluation Committee states that the automated election system 'can operate properly, securely, and accurately'
MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) finally secured the required certification for the automated election system (AES) to be used in the 2025 midterm polls.
With just a week to go before the polls, the Comelec announced on Monday, May 5, that the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) issued the certification as it found that the AES “can operate properly, securely, and accurately.”
The TEC is composed of representatives from the Comelec, Department of Information and Communications Technology, and Department of Science and Technology.
The certification is needed for the poll body to fully implement the following:
- Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count or FASTrAC
- Secure Electronic Transmission Services or SETS
- Online Voting and Counting System or OVCS
The Philippines is using a new technology provider for the 2025 elections — Korean firm Miru Systems.
The OVCS, meanwhile, is being used by overseas Filipinos. Internet voting for Filipinos abroad — a first in history — already began on April 13 and will end on election day in the Philippines, May 12.
The certification is overdue since Republic Act No. 9369 requires that it be issued “not later than three months” before election day. The deadline for the 2025 polls should have been February 12.
There were similar delays in previous elections. Comelec Chairman George Garcia said back in March that the law should be amended to take into account the “long process it takes” to certify the technology.
For the 2025 elections, the poll body had tapped United States company Pro V&V to be the international certification entity. Pro V&V submitted reports to the TEC, particularly the final software audit report and the final source code review report.
The Comelec’s Project Management Office submitted the other required documents, including the field test report and mock elections report. – with a report from Michelle Abad/Rappler.com
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