Comelec, NAMFREL embrace digitalization for 2025 elections

ELECTION watchdog National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) is recommending the use of QR coded receipts when voting through automated counting machines (ACM) in the 2025 national and local elections.

NAMFREL Systems Committee chairman Fernando D. Contreras, Jr. said on Monday that by mandating the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will boost mechanisms to “preserve the integrity” of the automated polls.

“With each vote cast, NAMFREL is requesting there should be two sources: the ballot and the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). If they make the VVPAT accountable, that is a secondary source [of cybersecurity protection],” he said.

The VVPAT is a receipt-like printable given to the voter upon completing the casting of the ballot. It is a new feature of the ACM by Miru.   

The VVPAT receipt bears a QR code which voters can scan using their mobile phones to recheck the votes they cast.

“We are asking COMELEC to make the information on the QR codes public, so we can cross-check votes,” Mr. Contreras said.

The group is recommending that Miru and Comelec publish hash codes and fingerprints for accredited groups to verify the hash from information coming from the ACM.

While there are several cybersecurity issues, Mr. Contreras said the government must not just rely on the systems, software, and hardware of the ACM.

“The beauty of using both the ballot and the VVPAT is that we have a non-electronic fallback,” Mr. Contreras said.

To further aid in the digitalization of the elections, “the Smart Card implemented utilizes a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Integrated Chip (IC) as the main medium,” a NAMFREL observation report said.

The group recommended that COMELEC have these cards digitally signed by the electoral board. “Those signatures will testify that those election returns were made by the electoral board,” Mr. Contreras said.   

After the digital signatures, the data transmitted should be encrypted by information only the Comelec knows, he added.

Comelec accepted South Korean company Miru Systems’ bid last January to be the official election provider of the Philippines in the 2025 elections, replacing Smartmatic.

Miru is expected to deliver 110,000 machines for the 2025 elections. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana