SC seeks Comelec, DFA comment on online voting challenge

The Supreme Court (SC) has directed the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to comment on a motion seeking to intervene in a pending petition challenging online overseas voting.

In a resolution dated April 15, the SC en banc ordered the Comelec and DFA to submit their comments within 10 days from notice.

The motion to intervene was filed by the National People’s Initiative Council Committee and God’s People’s Initiative in connection with a petition filed by PDP-Laban in June 2025.

In their 14-page motion, the intervenors asked the SC to issue a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction directing the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC) to convene and issue a certification approving or disapproving the use of the MIRU system for the national and local elections.

The MIRU system is a proposed or contracted election technology platform used for managing and processing online or automated voting for national and local elections in the Philippines.

The petitioners also sought to direct the JCOC to investigate SMS Global and Sequent Tech Inc. over alleged violations of the rights of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) voters, particularly on compliance with mandatory voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) requirements.

The motion was “with urgent motion to implead Senator Imee Marcos as chairperson of the JCOC” over the alleged failure to ensure compliance with VVPAT requirements.

To recall, PDP-Laban in June 2025 asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the implementation of remote online voting using digital ballots for overseas voters.

The party also asked the SC to direct Comelec to issue a corrective resolution on provisions of the Election Automation Law and to require mandatory training for the implementation of parallel manual counting of votes alongside automated counting machines (ACMs).

In addition, the petitioners urged the SC to require Comelec to make both the front-end and back-end systems of the automated election system accessible for public viewing during canvassing.

In a supplemental petition, they also called for a manual recount of senatorial votes in the 2025 elections.

GMA News Online has reached out to the DFA for comment and will publish their response once available.

Meanwhile, Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the poll body will comply with the SC directive.

“Despite limited resources, the pilot online voting in 2025 was very successful. It afforded our compatriots abroad a means of voting without going to our embassies and consulates,” he said.

“The random manual audit conducted for overseas voting revealed 100% accuracy. As to the request for a manual recount of senatorial votes, it is doubtful if this can be done under the present remedy sought by the petitioners,” Garcia added.

For her part, Marcos said impleading her is unnecessary, as the JCOC was never formally constituted in the 19th Congress.

“I do not have any personality to represent or bind the JCOC in whatever capacity,” she said.

She added that the JCOC responsible for reporting on the 2025 national and local elections is that of the 20th Congress.—MCG, GMA News