Comelec, agencies sign manual audit pact for BARMM elections

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and its partner agencies signed on Friday the Memorandum of Agreement for the random manual audit (RMA) committee for the upcoming first Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the RMA is one of the crucial components of an election as it counterchecks the count of the automated machines.

“Napakahalaga [ng RMA] sapagkat ito ‘yung magsasabi kung tama ba lahat ang mga makina sa pagbilang nila. At the same time, tama ba ‘yung sistema, proseso na ipinatupad natin,” Garcia told reporters.

(The RMA is extremely important because it determines whether all the machines counted the votes correctly. At the same time, it verifies if the system and processes we implemented are accurate.)

Garcia added that an automated election is useless if the RMA accuracy rating is low.

According to Comelec, the 2025 elections recorded the highest RMA accuracy rating at 99.997%, indicating a highly reliable count of the ballots.

“Ibig sabihin yung makina ng bumilang at ‘yung balota noong mano-manong binilang ay tumutugma… Napakataas ‘yon, nangangahulugan lang ‘yong automation natin more or less successful, and at the same time bumibilang lang ng tama ang mga makina, mapagkakatiwalaan,” Garcia said.

(This means that the machine count and the manual count of the ballots matched... That is exceptionally high, which simply means our automation was more or less successful. At the same time, it shows that the machines count accurately and can be trusted.)

Part of the RMA committee includes Comelec’s accredited citizen arms.

The agency signed separate contracts with the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Department of Education for cooperative partnerships.

Another pact was sealed between Comelec, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, and the National Movement for Free Elections for the monitoring of the manual audit.

The first BARMM parliamentary election is scheduled for September 14, 2026.

Election irregularities

In his message, Garcia pointed out that during elections, one major problem is the irregularities that happen outside the machines—particularly acts aimed at manipulating the poll results.

“‘Yung pong pagboto ng botante na hindi pala sila talaga ang nagshe-shade ng balota… Hindi sila nagshe-shade sapagkat tinakot sila o kaya hindi sila pinalabas ng mga bahay nila dahil may mga ibang nagshe-shade lalo na ‘yung may kontrol sa teritoryo na ‘yon,” Garcia said.

(Instances where voters aren't actually the ones shading their own ballots… They fail to shade their ballots because they were intimidated, or they were prevented from leaving their houses because others shaded for them, especially those who hold control over that territory.)

The Comelec chief called on the public and partner agencies to prevent these irregularities during the very first BARMM elections. He said it would be disappointing if the election results did not reflect the true sentiment or will of the voters.

Garcia said watchers, citizen arms, and other election personnel are encouraged not only to guard the precincts, but also to monitor the storage and distribution of supplies.

“Hindi lang sa presinto ang pagbabantay. Kaya nga po namin binibigay ang schedule ng pagdating ng gamit sa hubs natin… sa mga munisipyo sa probinsya… kailan ididistribute sa mga guro. Dapat pala ’yon, sinusubaybayan nila, nagpapalagay sila ng mga watcher nila,” Garcia said.

(Monitoring shouldn't be limited to the precincts. That is precisely why we provide the schedule for when supplies arrive at our hubs... in municipal halls and provinces... and when they will be distributed to the teachers. They should be tracking these processes and deploying their watchers.)

“... In fact, hindi rin pinagbabawal… magpalagay ng CCTV, halimbawa ‘yung isang political party, ‘yung isang candidate para siguraduhin na ‘yung gamit sa loob ng bulwagan ay walang nakakahawak, walang nakakagalaw,” he added.

(... In fact, it is not prohibited... for a political party or a candidate to set up CCTVs, for instance, to ensure that no one touches or tampers with the materials inside the hall.)

According to Garcia, 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. is the critical period for Comelec, as it is the time when ballot boxes are opened to reveal whether the incoming ballots are pre-shaded.

“Pag may bumotong nakatatanda, may kapansanan, nagdadalang-tao, kita mo kaagad doon kung pre-shaded yung balota. Therefore, mare-report agad sa’tin… pwede namin pigilan ‘yung pagpapaboto sa presintong ‘yan,” Garcia explained.

(When an elderly voter, a person with disability, or a pregnant woman votes, you can immediately spot if the ballot is pre-shaded. Therefore, it can be reported to us right away... and we can halt voting in that precinct.) —LDF, GMA News