By Brian Campued
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) assured the public that the results of the 2025 midterm polls are not rigged, debunking the allegations of “dagdag-bawas” in the senatorial race.
Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia made the clarification after receiving reports that election results for senators allegedly had a discrepancy when it was updated at around 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
“Wala pong dagdag-bawas, wala pong shading—wala po, it’s just a matter of nag-correct sila kung sinuman ’yong nag-correct… dahil nga po sa nadoble ’yong mga data dahil pina-process… ’pag po pala pina-process, kinakailangan meron kang program para lang linisin at hindi madoble,” Garcia explained.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page, Comelec clarified that its servers are the only ones receiving the encrypted machine-readable Election Returns (ERs) in real-time, which are then automatically translated into human-readable data and made available for viewing via its website.
However, the data of the ERs received by the servers of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), the media, and dominant and minority parties need to undergo processing before it could be translated from machine-readable to human-readable data.
The poll body stressed, “Ang prosesong ito ay kumakailangan ng sapat na oras kaya naman magkakaroon ng kaunting delay sa pagpapalabas nila ng resulta.”
Comelec also reiterated that they are only allowed to announce the final and official rankings once all votes are counted by the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC).
However, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said that they will also release partial official results in a bid to be more transparent.
“Wala naman pong obligasyon ang Comelec sa batas natin na mag-release ng partial [at] unofficial; ang lagi pong release po namin ay full, complete, and official results. Pero dahil nga po ine-enhance natin ’yong transparency natin, at para makita ng ating mga kababayan [kung] ano ba ’yong resulta ng ginagawa natin sa araw-araw ay naglalabas po kami ng partial-official results,” Laudiangco explained.
Also, Comelec announced that the 12 winning senators in May 12 midterm polls may be proclaimed by the weekend (May 17-18). (with report from Louisa Erispe / PTV News)
-jpv
