The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday, May 15, addressed concerns over a reported discrepancy between the number of voters who voted and ballots cast in a precinct in Zamboanga City, assuring the public that no votes were altered or tampered with during the May 2025 midterm elections.

The issue was raised after the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) showed that Comelec’s website listed 919 ballots cast in a clustered precinct in Lamisahan, Zamboanga City, despite the fact that only 768 voters had actually voted out of 992 registered voters.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia acknowledged the anomaly but explained that it was a programming-related discrepancy, not evidence of fraud or manipulation.

"Nagkaroon lang ng correction sa item na yan, sa programming (There was just a correction made in that item, in the programming)," he said.

"On the same night [May 12] it was corrected...the number of voters who actually voted and the number of ballots cast are exactly the same," he added.

Garcia emphasized that the error did not affect the actual votes, as the vote data had already been transmitted and securely received by Comelec servers by 7 p.m. on election night.

“Pero it does not change the votes simply because ang votes kasi noong gabi ng alas siyete pumasok na sa server nating lahat at nakikita na ng lahat sa mismong website ng Comelec (But it does not change the votes simply because the votes came in that night at 7 p.m. and were already visible for everyone on the Comelec website),” he said.

To reinforce transparency and public confidence, Garcia announced that Comelec would soon publish transmission logs, audit logs, IP addresses, and hash codes, allowing the public and watchdog groups to verify the authenticity and timing of transmitted data from each precinct.

“In fact, after the proclamation of partylists, we are going to publish the transmission logs, the audit logs, the IP addresses, including the hash codes,” Garcia said.

“Makikita po ng lahat. Makikita natin sa bawat lugar kung talaga bang ganoong oras natanggap (We can confirm when and where each transmission occurred)," he said.

The Comelec’s explanation aims to quell any speculation over the integrity of the elections, especially amid record-high voter turnout and the upcoming proclamation of winning senators and party-lists.