FLOSS in Electoral Fraud Monitoring (Philippines)

As the 2025 Philippine National Elections approaches

We face the same challenges with a new face. The COMELEC has approved Miru Systems—a South Korean firm mired in electoral fraud, corruption, and bribery controversies in multiple countries—as the new provider of our country’s Automated Elections System.

While the COMELEC attempts to present a seemingly transparent process for the coming elections, election watchdogs and ICT experts still observe potential for electronic fraud. COMELEC Chairperson Garcia himself also acknowledges that automated elections cannot address traditional forms of fraud.

In the 2022 elections, several technical concerns have been raised by different groups on the integrity and transparency of automated elections, raising alarms over the incredible speed of the results despite several machines malfunctioning and delaying voting in several precincts, the proportion of votes of particular candidates, IP addresses, etc.

While some groups have constantly been demanding for transparency, the COMELEC has yet to provide sufficient evidence to allay doubts about the integrity of the 2022 elections. The coming elections would be no different. With the COMELEC prioritizing speed of transmission over transparency of vote counting, the Filipino people must come together to maintain a watchful eye on our votes.

In partnership with Vote Report PH, an electoral watchdog composed of organizations and individuals in the ICT sector, this year's Software Freedom Day Philippines seeks to engage democracy-loving FLOSS advocates to participate in a nationwide effort to keep a watchful eye on our votes.