The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has replaced at least 200 automated counting machines due to technical problems, election chief George Erwin Garcia announced on Monday. These machines did not completely stop working, but they repeatedly rejected ballots, prompting immediate action.
“Mayroon tayong more or less 200 machines na kinakailangan palitan. Hindi naman huminto pero napapansin namin nakaka-dalawang beses nag-reject,” Garcia said. To prevent further issues, the operations center quickly decided to pull out the faulty machines and substitute them with new ones.
Automated counting machines face glitches nationwide
Reports of malfunctioning automated counting machines surfaced during Eleksyon 2025. In Cebu, for example, five machines at Lahug Elementary School experienced failures but were promptly fixed by authorized technicians. Similarly, several vote-counting machines in Lipa City, Batangas malfunctioned early in the voting process at GB Lontok Memorial Integrated School, causing temporary delays.
Preparing for issues with automated counting machines
Garcia explained that the Comelec has a contingency stock of 16,000 machines ready for replacement. Reflecting on the 2022 elections, they had to replace 2,500 machines early on, mainly older units. This time, even if a machine shows early signs of trouble, it is immediately pulled out as a preventive measure to ensure smooth voting.
“16,000 ang contingency natin. In fact nung 2022, umaga pa lang 2,500 na makina na ang pinapalitan. Of course, mga lumang makina yan. Ang sa amin preventive measure, kahit di pa sira ang makina pero nagpapakita na ng indication, pinu-pull out na agad,” Garcia said.
With these steps, the Comelec aims to minimize disruptions and ensure that the automated counting machines perform reliably throughout Eleksyon 2025.
