Atty. Shugar Carbero-Llacuna, Director III of the Education and Information Department of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), leads the demonstration and proper utilization of an automated counting machine (ACM) in Davao City on August 26 2024, for the upcoming 2025 BARMM parliamentary polls. (Photo courtesy of COMELEC)
DAVAO CITY—Atty. Rafael Olaño, Deputy Executive Director for Operations of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), emphasized on that the automated counting machines (ACMS)—the equipment used for counting votes—are ready and well-equipped for next year’s parliamentary elections.
“We expect no issues with the machines, whether or not the power interruptions are intentional,” COMELEC Spokesperson Atty. John Rex Laudiangco stressed in Davao City during the two-day dialogues held on Aug. 26, 2024, in Davao City on the Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).
In May 2025, the pioneering parliamentary polls in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will take place alongside the national and local elections.
Each stand-alone ACM has a built-in 14-inch widescreen, allowing the electorate to review their votes.
Further, the machines have no reception capability—only a transmission feature—which manifests no obstruction of vote legitimacy.
There are also assistive devices that aid persons with disabilities (PWDs), specifically visually impaired voters, through the audio produced from the headphones in reading the votes cast.
ACMs are also resilient to power outages, resulting in no hampering of poll experiences lasting 84 hours of battery life.
Attended by 25 media partners and 15 civil society organizations (CSOs) from across BARMM and Davao City, the event was spearheaded by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), a United Kingdom public body dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world, and the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG) through the Political Participation for Greater Electoral Integrity (PARTICIPATE) BARMM.
The PARTICIPATE BARMM is a non-partisan and pro-democracy coalition dedicated to engaging and empowering the political participation of the Filipino people.
“Indeed, what we need to focus on is not the technology-based problems; rather, it is the issues such as vote buying, terrorism, and threats to the Electoral Board, among others,” said Laudiangco, who is also the Director for Education and Information Department of the COMELEC.
By December 2024, there will be a total of 110,000 ACMs expected to be utilized next year.
Voter’s education
Atty. Olaño urged the media and the CSOs to emphasize during voters education that there will be two (2) ballots for the electorates in the BARMM—one (1) for the national and local elections and one (1) for the Bangsamoro region—to preserve the ‘sanctity’ of votes due to the reduction of the ballots’ length.
Likewise, Atty. Laudiangco highlighted the need for the voters to refrain from some acts, such as writing identifiable marks and tearing off the ballots, which are punishable under Philippine laws.
The Bangsamoro Government, through its Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO), leads the ongoing Halalang Bangsamoro campaign in disseminating information about the BEC, the governing law for the 2025 polls.
This campaign is in partnership with the COMELEC and various CSOs to prioritize voter education and awareness and ensure a well-informed electorate for the 2025 parliamentary elections. (Johamin Inok/BIO)
