Comelec pushes random audit of VCMs, SD cards

Comelec logo and VCM, INQUIRER GRAPHICS

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will move for the random audit of vote-counting machines (VCMs) and secure digital (SD) cards that encountered issues during the May 9 polls.

John Rex Laudiangco, acting spokesperson for the Comelec, said Commissioner Marlon Casquejo will ask the commission en banc to allow the technical audit as part of the investigation of the hundreds of malfunctioning VCMs and defective or corrupted SD cards.

“We initiate our investigations and audits, also to check what happened to get the best practices, and how to improve for the next elections,” Laudiangco told a press briefing.

Laudiangco said the poll body and the Comelec Advisory Committee have met to discuss the issues encountered by the VCMs during the election day.

“All the technical issues were resolved through diagnostics and calibration,” he added. With regards to the random technical audit of SD cards, Laudiangco said that they would be following a timeline before they do the procedure. “We will be able to conduct the audit after the period for filing of election protest,” he said.

“In the event we did not receive any potential election protest, then we will be proceeding with random technical audit of the SD cards,” he explained.

—TINA G. SANTOS

RELATED STORIES

PPCRV finds 1.6% mismatch in election returns

Comelec insists credibility of 2022 polls amid protests vs alleged irregularities