The Commission on Elections (Comelec) replaced around 200 automated counting machines (ACMs) during Eleksyon 2025 due to signs of malfunction, poll chief George Erwin Garcia announced on Monday. While the machines did not entirely shut down, they showed repeated ballot rejections, prompting immediate replacement as a preventive measure.
“Mayroon tayong more or less 200 machines na kinakailangan palitan. Hindi naman huminto pero napapansin namin nakaka-dalawang beses nag-reject,” Garcia said, explaining the decision by Comelec’s operations center to pull out the machines before the situation could worsen.
Malfunctions were reported in several locations, including:
- Cebu, where five machines at Lahug Elementary School failed to work properly but were promptly repaired by authorized technicians.
- Lipa City, Batangas, where technical issues affected early voting at GB Lontok Memorial Integrated School.
Garcia emphasized that Comelec had prepared a total of 16,000 contingency units, significantly more than the 2,500 machines replaced by morning in the 2022 elections. “Ang sa amin preventive measure, kahit di pa sira ang makina pero nagpapakita na ng indication, pinu-pull out na agad,” he added.
