COMELEC Debunks Misinformation About Automated Counting Machines

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Task Force KKK sa Halalan released a fact-checking advisory Thursday to counter spreading misinformation about the Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) set to be used in the upcoming 2025 National and Local Elections.

The electoral body identified three prominent pieces of false information circulating online and provided clarifications on each claim.

Contrary to claims that ACMs remain connected to the internet throughout Election Day, COMELEC bared that the machines operate independently in standalone mode during voting hours.

According to the advisory, USB modems or ethernet cables are only connected after voting concludes and the first set of election returns are printed.

“The printing of election returns precedes transmission from the ACM to servers,” the commission explained, citing this procedure in Annex B of Resolution No. 11098 dated January 21, 2025.

COMELEC also refuted assertions that election returns are transmitted through insecure public networks.

The advisory clarified that data transmission uses Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections with robust security features.

“Because of the VPN connection, election returns data is encrypted and secure,” COMELEC stated. “Any unauthorized individual lacks the capability to read or decode the data in just seconds while it’s being transmitted from the ACM to the servers.”

The commission mentioned that VPN technology creates a secure encrypted pathway that protects transmitted information from hackers, malicious actors, and cybercriminals.

The third misconception addressed claims about vulnerable source code within ACMs. COMELEC explained that no source code exists inside the machines — only the final machine-executable code resulting from compilation in a Trusted Build Environment.

Before deployment, independent international certifying bodies and local stakeholders, including IT experts and representatives from political parties and election watchdogs like PPCRV and NAMFREL, thoroughly reviewed the source code.

“This entire process was conducted in the presence of accredited observers, political party representatives, civil society organizations, and independent technical experts who found no anomalies or irregularities in the ACM source code or other AES components,” the advisory noted.

The trusted build process took place in January and February 2025, ensuring the integrity, security, and accuracy of the Automated Election System for the upcoming elections.

COMELEC continues its information campaign as part of broader efforts to maintain public confidence in the electoral process ahead of the May 2025 polls.