The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced that the final testing and sealing (FTS) of automated counting machines (ACMs) for the 2025 national and local elections has been completed with perfect results.
Comelec Chair George Garcia shared in a radio interview that all tested machines functioned without any technical issues. “The machines we tested showed 100% success, with no technical problems encountered by our electoral board members,” he said.
The FTS, which runs until May 7, is being carried out in polling precincts across the country. Each electoral board tests the machines to verify accurate vote counting, proper reading of official ballots, and matching results between automated and manual vote counts.
The process includes an end-to-end test of the ACMs: initializing the machines, casting test votes from 10 individuals, and comparing machine results to manual tallies.
Once testing is done, the machines are sealed and turned over to the Office of the Department of Education Supervisor Official (DESO), where they will remain secured by the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces until election day on May 12.