Comelec seeks budget for hybrid count machines

MANILA, Philippines — To prevent a repeat of machine malfunctions during previous elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is hoping to gain the support of the executive and legislative branches in purchasing a new election system.

For the 2025 midterm polls, the Comelec is preparing a two-year budgetary plan, with the one for 2024 to cover the preparatory stage and the one for 2025 covering the election proper.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia has yet to reveal the commission’s proposed budget.

He has come up with a “wish list” of features in the automated counting machines (ACMs) that they would want to use in the 2025 midterm polls.

Garcia yesterday presented the terms of reference for a new automated election system that include having “hybrid” ACMs that are equipped with both Optical Mark Reader (OMR) and Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) capability.

The OMR can be used for domestic elections while the DRE could be used for overseas voting.

An OMR allows voters to vote using a paper ballot, which is then counted by machines while DRE only allows voters to vote using a touch screen or touch pad.

The commission also prefers machines that allow votes to be verifiable through the display screen of at least 12 inches and voter’s receipt; that have ballot images (front and back) scanned, captured and read while successively displayed on the screen and showing the votes obtained by each candidate; that could verify a vote using a voter’s receipt that would automatically be cut by the printer; and the machines have a ballot scanning speed of 200mm/sec. which is faster than the old machine that is only capable of 70 mm/sec.

In the new system, the Comelec prefers using a stamping pen instead of a marking pen.

Should they fail to get the needed budget to cover the purchase of a new election system, Garcia said they face the worst-case scenario of reusing the vote counting machines, which they have already declared to be “unusable,” and could end up with more problems.

“We would have to withdraw the term ‘unusable’ and use the 98,000 ACMs and have them refurbished,” Garcia added.

These 98,000 ACMs have been in use since the 2016 elections. During the 2022 presidential elections, there were 1,600 ACMs – less than one percent of the 107,000 precincts – that broke down.

“How much more if more than one-half of machines will fail because of their age in 2025, that is the worst-case scenario,” Garcia added.

In 2025, the Comelec is expecting 71 million voters and would require an estimated 127,000 machines to be used in the 127,000 polling precincts.