MANILA -- Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez denied rumors that one of the security features of the election ballots can affect the outcome of the result.

"They claim that the UV (ultraviolet) ink is going to be used to mark ovals invisibly," said Jimenez.

Each official ballot will be marked with a UV ink that is only visible under the lens of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to be used for the May elections.

The Comelec official said reports have reached them that some critics think that the UV ink can be used to mark ovals invisibly so that votes will be counted for a specific candidate.

Jimenez assured that the rumors are mere allegations. He explained that there will be two lenses in each poll machine, one will read the UV ink and the other will read the marked ovals.

"There would be no possibility that the UV ink will be able to fool the machine into thinking that there is a vote there when there is isn't," he said. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)