Comelec deletes backup files used in May 9 polls

Comelec headquarters

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) started Wednesday the deletion of backup files used in the May 9 national and local elections.

The backup files contain serialized ballot and SQL dump files which include projects of precincts, candidates, and references.

The activity was conducted in the Comelec Warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna in the presence of political parties and citizens’ arm groups.

According to Comelec acting spokesperson Rex Laudiangco, the files are “secured and kept under safety and protection.”

“In this instance as announced by the [Education and Information Department], what we are actually deleting are the back up files contained in back up hard drives,” he told reporters in a message.

“The other way around, we are preserving the data in the servers as a matter of protocol, in case it will be needed for election protests, as well as in case a precautionary protection order will be issued,” added Laudiangco.

In May, the poll body shut down the automated election system servers and network infrastructure in its data centers.

The Comelec likewise deleted the ballot face database from the servers of the National Printing Office last week.

The elections resulted in the victory of president-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and vice president-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio.

EDV/MUF