Hontiveros questions Comelec's delays, woes despite P18.827-B contract

Senator Risa Hontiveros questioned the delays and problems hounding the Commission on Elections (Comelec) particularly in the printing of ballots despite its P18.827 billion contract with Miru Systems.

In her privilege speech on Monday, Feb. 3, Hontiveros called out Comelec for conducting the process called the "trusted build" every time it needs to add or remove a name from its system.

"Bakit kailangan ng COMELEC at ng Miru na magsagawa ng paulit-ulit na “trusted build” bawat beses na may pag-papalit ng kahit isang pangalan lang sa listahan ng kandidato? (Why do the COMELEC and Miru need to conduct a repeated "trusted build" every time there's even a single change in the list of candidates?)" she asked.

Comelec makes adjustments to the Election Management System (EMS), the Automated Counting Machines, the Consolidation, and Canvassing System, and other election software to remove – or add - the names of withdrawn or disqualified candidates.

Hontiveros likened this to having to take out, and reassemble an entire car engine every time they have to replace a single bolt. Every time the COMELEC and Miru rebuild the software, she said that there is a chance that malicious code might be introduced into our automated election systems.

But she said that according to Comelec, it is now claiming that they have added a feature that will allow the system to include additional names without the need for new “trusted builds.”

"Why were basic features - like adding or removing candidate names - not included in the system in the first place, especially considering that the Terms of Reference require that the Election Management System enable the COMELEC to create, retrieve/read, update and delete records, or CRUD for short?" she asked.

"Bilyon-bilyon ang kontrata, pero add o minus lang ng kandidato, magiging sanhi pa ba ng delay sa halalan sa Mayo?" she added.

The senator also pointed out that while Comelec has assured the public that everything is going according to schedule, she noted that the poll body has made the unprecedented move of deputizing the National Printing Office to help out with the printing of millions of ballots needed on every precinct on election day.

"Perhaps they did the math and determined that the two - and yes, you heard that correctly, two - printers provided so far by Miru Systems will not be enough to meet daily ballot printing targets in time for the elections," she said.

She added that Comelec also admitted that it will be using cheaper paper, which is 90 gsm (0.07 millimeters) or thinner by nearly half than the ballot papers used in the last election. She raised concerns of this cheaper, thinner paper for ballots causing problems on election day.

"Mr. President, we paid a record high amount of pesos for the 2025 automated elections and this is what we get - delays. And when it comes to elections, delays can have serious consequences for our people and our very democracy itself," she said.

Hontiveros clarified that she does not wish to spread fear or doubts about our upcoming elections and said that she fully supports Comelec in conducting a free, clean, and honest election in 2025..

"Thus, I would like to challenge the COMELEC to ensure that everything is in order well before the May 2025 elections. After all, its constitutional mandate includes identifying and acting on issues that may cause delays in the conduct of our elections," she said.