Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said 2025 national and local elections would be more secure during the press conference held at the Comelec V office in Rawis Legazpi City on Monday, February 19.
Garcia also highlighted the importance of transparency in all democratic processes and encouraged widespread participation in the upcoming election.
“Kinakailangan na ang lahat ng proseso ng Comelec ay nakikita ng bawat isa. In fact, katulad ng ginawa naming procurement, [mga] bagong makina na gagamitin natin sa 2025 elections, sigurado natin na lahat ay involve lalo na ang citizens alam, pati na ang mga interest groups at ng media,” Garcia said.
He also pointed out the significance of inclusivity in terms of adapting to new technologies that will be used in the electoral system.
“Kinakailangan well-informed ang mamamayan kung paano ginagamit ang makina at kinakailangan well-trained ang mga guro para sila ay may kaalaman kung paano maooperate ang makina,” Garcia added.
Furthermore, in terms of the proposed internet voting, Garcia stressed that security measures are in place to ensure that it is secured.
He shared that they received 35 million attempts to hack the voter search in December 2022 and over three million attempts in December 2023, but none of them came close to being successful.
“Sa makabagong teknolohiya, halos wala talagang proteksyon, pero kung ikaw ay vigilant at hindi mo pinapabayaan, sa aking palagay hindi naman sila magiging succcessful, ganoon po ang tiwalang binibigay ko sa mga tauhan namin, lalo na sa [Information Technology Department] side ng commission,” Garcia furthered.
Considering the Indigenous People (IP) population of over 800,000 members nationwide, Garcia stated that they aim to achieve at least 500,000 to register; however, they still want to register all of them, if possible.
“Mayroon po tayong satellite registration na sa halip na sila ay pinapababa natin sa bundok, sila po ay sasadyain natin mismo sa kung saan ‘yung kanilang komunidad. Lahat ng paraan ginagawa ng Comelec (para) ma-iparehistro lang sila,” Garcia expressed.
Meanwhile, with the effectiveness of the “registered anywhere” program at malls, gyms, and other cities for convenient registration, a total of 89,000 individuals have registered on the first day of resumption, compared to previous years where few voters lined up for the first day.
Due to the increasing population in the country, the Comelec is projecting 71 million voters nationwide and more or less 26 million SK voters for the 2025 elections. I Alliah Jane Babila, Lyzha Mae Agnote