Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Marlon S. Casquejo will ask the Comelec en banc to allow the random manual audit (RMA) of secure digital (SD) cards and vote-counting machines (VCMs).
This was disclosed by Comelec Acting Spokesperson John Rex C. Laudianco during a press briefing on Saturday, May 14.
“he good Commissioner will be moving for the random audit not just of the VCM but also of the SD cards,” he said.
“Ganyan po, nag-i-initiate po kami ng sarili naming investigations and audits (That’s how we do it, we initiate our investigations and audits), also to check what happened to get the best practices, how t to improve for the next elections,” the acting spokesperson continued.
On May 13, Laudiangco announced that the poll body will look into the reports of malfunctioning VCMs, following the call of Pres. Duterte to probe reported glitches of some VCMs.
Several groups and individuals have raised concern over the defective VCMs, casting doubt on the credibility of the polls. Some of them have even mounted mass demonstrations to express their dismay.
On May 12, Duterte said he is hoping that the Comelec will find time to investigate the VCMs "just to disabuse the minds of those na may dayaan (that think that there was cheating)."
Over 1,800 VCMs reportedly malfunctioned on Election Day, May 9, per Comelec Commissioner George Erwin M. Garcia.