The Commission on Elections (Comelec) defended Wednesday the accuracy of the 2022 national elections, amid critics’ petitions to access the transmission logs of the system used in the polls.
At the same time, the government’s election watchdog is advocating the redefinition of vote-buying and vote-selling to allow the agency to crack down on the use of online cash transfers for those activities.
Comelec spokesman Director John Rex Laudiangco noted the private organization Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting found no discrepancies, while the random manual audit of the machines showed a nearly perfect accuracy rate.
The election critics are looking for some 20 million votes in last year’s national and local elections, but Comelec said the system only transmits the results of the voting, not the actual vote.
Laudiangco told the Kapihan sa Manila Bay they have granted the public access to the transmission logs, while looking for a new technology for the midterm elections in 2025.
Comelec has created a committee to coordinate with law enforcement agencies to address vote-buying and vote-selling in the country, Laudiangco said.
“We launched Task Force Kontra Bigay in 2019 and we also formed it for the 2022 elections. This is only an ad hoc task force. Right now, it is already a formal committee. It will be called the Committee on Kontra Bigay. So, there will be a dedicated Comelec office which will focus on addressing vote-buying,” Laudiangco told the forum.
While they created a committee against vote-buying, Laudiangco appealed to Congress to revisit the definition of vote-buying and vote-selling.
Citing his experience in the Comelec Law Department, Laudiangco said the poll body is having a hard time linking the evidence of vote-buying to the candidates.
Vote-buying and vote-selling are considered election offenses under Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code.
Laudiangco said the definition of this vote-buying should be expanded, and it should also include other modern ways to transact with the voters such as bank transfers and online wallets.
Those found guilty will be denied the right to vote and prohibited from holding public office, and any political party found guilty of vote-buying will be fined.
Laudiangco said online cash transfer platforms have informed him that bank secrecy and privacy laws prevent them from giving access to that information.
Task Force Kontra Bigay, headed by Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, was composed of several government agencies including the Department of Justice, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Philippine Information Agency.
Meanwhile, the Comelec is drafting the terms of reference for the procurement of the election system to be used in the 2025 midterm senatorial and local elections.
The poll body has also allowed the filing of certificates of candidacy in malls and other big public spaces for field offices that cannot accommodate a huge volume of people.
“Right now, we ordered all our election officers to find an appropriate place like a public gymnasium and malls which can accommodate a huge volume of people come the six-day period for COC filing, Laudiangco said.
At the same time, he said the filing of COCs for the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections is set from August 28 to September 2.
The BSKE has been repeatedly postponed since 2016. In October 2022,
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the law moving the December 2022 BSKE to the last Monday of October 2023.
Campaign activities are prohibited from July 8 to Oct. 18 while the campaign period will be on Oct. 19 to 28.
It will be illegal to remove or deface lawful propaganda materials; use or post illegal campaign materials; use armored land, water, or air crafts; deploy police officers as bodyguards; release public funds; and construct village-funded roads and bridges during the campaign period, according to Comelec.
During the election period from July 3 to Nov. 14, it is forbidden to bear or carry firearms; use security personnel; buy and sell votes; transfer civil service employees; and suspend local elective officials.
On the eve of election day, campaigning shall be banned as well as selling, buying, serving, and taking intoxicating liquor.
