The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and joint venture SMS Global Technologies Inc. and Sequent Tech Inc. (JV Global Technology) signed the contract for the online voting and counting system (OVCS) at 10 a.m. today.

The contract signing was led by Chairman George Erwin Garcia and his JV Global Technology counterpart, at Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila. It was then followed by a demonstration of the internet voting system.

As the winning bidder, JV Global Technology must ensure the security and integrity of the public’s overseas votes for the monthlong franchise in the May 2025 midterm polls, the Comelec asked.

OVCS was proposed in hopes of boosting voter participation among Filipinos overseas, as the 2022 polls was way below the domestic voter turnout. However, 17 countries would not be covered by this in 2025 as the government did not permit the use of their internet for security reasons; Among those countries include Israel, China, Syria, and Russia.