Comelec to replace 500 corrupted SD cards

MANILA, Philippines — Three days before the midterm polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported that around 500 Secure Digital (SD) cards were found to be corrupted.

These SD cards will be used to store the encrypted image of the ballots fed inside the vote counting machines (VCMs) on election day.

Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said in a press briefing that in the last three to four days, there were 473 SD cards reported as corrupted.

He noted, however, that this would not pose a problem on election day as they are already addressing the issue now and they sending replacement SD cards.

“When an SD card is reported as corrupted, we respond by preparing replacement cards. The replacement cards are then swapped with the corrupted cards, kaliwaan ‘yan,” Jimenez said.

“We do not issue new SD cards unless we receive a corrupted card in return,” he added.

According to the Comelec official, this system controls the number of SD cards in circulation and it ensures that the poll body will be able to analyze why the cards were corrupted. (Editor: Eden E. Estopace)