The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday, June 15, deleted the back up files used in the May 2022 polls.
The deletion of back up files such as the serialized ballots, SQL dump files which include the project of precincts, candidates and references was done at the Comelec warehouse in Sta. Rosa Laguna in the presence of political parties, and citizens' arm groups.
"What we are actually deleting are the back up files contained in back up hard drives," Comelec Acting Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said in a statement.
"The other way around, we are preserving the data in the servers as a matter of protocol, in case it will be needed for election protests, as well as in case a precautionary protection order will be issued," he added.
The activity was livestreamed on the official Comelec Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Last month, the poll body also shutdown the three automated elections system (AES) servers and network infrastructure used in the May 9 National and Local polls.