Philippine Commission on Elections Strikes Historic P17.99 Billion Automation Deal with South Korean Firm

The evolution of election processes in the Philippines has reached a new milestone as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) inks a groundbreaking P17.99 billion deal with South Korea-based Miru Systems Co. Ltd. for the automation of the 2025 midterm elections. This partnership signifies the Philippines' continued commitment to strengthening the democratic process through technological enhancements.

As the sole bidder, Miru Systems has clinched the contract to provide a Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (Fastrac) to Comelec. The deal will encompass the lease of 110,000 automated counting machines, complete election management systems, consolidation and canvassing systems, in addition to delivering ballot printing services, ballot boxes and other necessary peripherals.

Reminiscing on the past electoral journey, the Philippines automated its elections in 2010, pioneering a transformative leap in its democratic processes. Since this pivotal change, the country has smoothly conducted five national elections, witnessing substantial improvements across all key performance indicators following each election cycle. A testament to the technological leap is the significant surge in trust among the populace; from a mere 30% confidence level in manual elections, trust has soared above 80% after embracing election technology.

In 2022, a poll by Pulse Asia underscored the public's overwhelming support for the automated system, revealing that an impressive 90% of Filipino citizens advocate for the continued use of technology in the archipelago's electoral system.

As part of this deal, Miru Systems is set to provide not just hardware, but also customizable systems and specialized software aimed at ensuring the transparency and security of the voting process. Furthermore, the firm will offer comprehensive technical support for the leased machines and systems, showing a full spectrum of support for the election's success.

Despite its innovative prospects, the awarded contract has not been without dissent. Several watchdog groups have voiced concerns over past controversies surrounding Miru Systems's involvement in elections across various countries including Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Russia.

In response, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia has given his reassurance, stating the poll body’s Special Bids and Awards Committee took cognizance of the allegations but nevertheless advocated for the South Korean firm based on its merit. Supporting their decision, Comelec was equipped with positive certifications from the electoral bodies of Congo and Iraq.

This strategic partnership between Comelec and Miru Systems is poised to usher in a new era for the Philippine elections, empowering the democratic voice of its people with precision, transparency, and unwavering trust in their electoral system.

91% of Filipinos favor automated elections in the future

A 2019 Pulse Asia survey showed that 4 of 5 Filipinos are satisfied with the conduct of the May 2019 polls. A significant majority of voters expressed "big trust" in the results, and 87 percent of respondents reported being satisfied with the use of electronic voting machines in the Philippines.

These results mimic another survey conducted in June by The Second Quarter 2019 Social Weather Survey (SWS) among 1,200 adults eligible to vote. The SWS classified the satisfaction rating of Filipinos with the 2019 elections as excellent.

While the Pulse Asia Survey was commissioned by Democracy Watch and Stratbase Albert Del Rosario Institute; the SWS initiative was non-commissioned and released as a public service.

Evaluating the voters’ satisfaction with the automation of their polls and the use of election technology (since 2010) was a critical segment of both surveys. Vote counting machines are in use across all the Philippines, where more than 92,000 electronic voting devices are deployed in nearly 37,000 polling places.

Some of the most significant findings include:

·         94% of respondents said it was easy to vote using the vote-counting machine (VCM)

·         91% said they “would like to see automated voting continue in future elections.”

·         87% said they “were satisfied with the automated polling system or counting of votes through (VCM)”

·         86% said they consider “the election results are believable.”

·         74% believe “no cheating occurred” in their areas

·         64% believe “there was no vote-buying” in their areas

Ronnie Holmes, Pulse Asia president, noted that “a large number of people in favor of continuing automated elections may be due to the ease of voting and quick release of results.

The vast majority of Filipinos voters trust the results of their country’s recent elections.”

Overcoming election irregularities

The Social Weather Survey found fewer Filipino voters saying they personally witnessed, or have knowledge about, election irregularities such as vote-buying, harassment of voters, flying voters, cheating in the counting of votes, bribing not to vote, and use of violence on election day.

According to the answers in the sample, those who personally witnessed vote-buying fell from 19% in June 2016 to 10% in 2019. At the same time, those who read or heard about it from reliable sources fell from 23% to 15%

Furthermore, the impartiality of the automated elections system has resulted in more peaceful elections in the Philippines, and the voters are more aware of these added benefits of election technology in the country.