Kabataan Party-list Representative Raoul Manuel has urged the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to conduct a parallel manual count of votes, citing incidents that may have compromised the integrity of the electoral process.
In a report by RH Milky Rigonan, a sudden software update to automated counting machines (ACMs)—from version 3.4 to 3.5—along with reports of malfunctions in several areas, raised concerns that led Manuel to urge COMELEC to conduct a parallel manual count.
He recalled that as early as February 2024, concerns had already been raised about Miru Systems' track record, as its machines had reportedly malfunctioned in other countries.
Manuel stressed that the Philippines must follow the example of Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo, both of which resorted to manual vote counts after encountering failures in their automated systems.
The party-list representative expressed concern over the lack of transparency surrounding the ACM software upgrades and other irregularities, urging manual vote counts as the only way to ensure the reliability of the election results.
Calls for greater transparency over the machine upgrades grew louder, with former Bayan Muna lawmakers Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate weighing in, and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan adding its voice in support of manual vote counting.
