THE Commission on Elections-Davao Region (Comelec-Davao) announced earlier this week in a media briefing the successful completion of the Final Testing and Sealing (FTS) of Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) ahead of the May 12, 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE).
According to Comelec-Davao Assistant Regional Director lawyer Gay Enumerables, the last round of FTS was conducted in Sulop, Davao del Sur, on Thursday, May 8. She said the process went smoothly and achieved its primary goal in identifying and resolving potential glitches before election day.
All 1,173 ACMs designated for the region’s voting centers have been tested and are ready for deployment.
The FTS began on May 6 in select polling precincts across the region. It involved a comprehensive end-to-end evaluation of the machines, including their initialization and the simulation of actual voting procedures by Electoral Board Members (ERBs).
Enumerables highlighted the importance of the FTS in preempting technical issues that might otherwise cause disruptions on election day.
She also reminded the public to properly shade the designated circles on the ballots to ensure their votes are counted. Voters were advised to avoid unnecessary markings and refrain from using experimental shading styles that could render their ballots invalid.
Meanwhile, lawyer Aileen Lizada, spokesperson of the Archdiocesan Citizens Engagement Committee-Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (Ace-Com-PPCRV Davao), explained that during the FTS, different types of markings were tested on the ballots.
The results showed that only properly shaded ovals were reliably read by the machines. According to Lizada, errant marks such as dots or lines outside the designated area risked being ignored by the system, potentially leading to lost votes.
Lizada further urged voters not to overvote, selecting more candidates than allowed, as doing so would invalidate their choices for that position.
She also encouraged them to prepare a list or “kodigo” to streamline their voting process and reduce the chance of errors.
With all ACMs tested and ready, the regional electoral agency is confident in the technical preparedness of the region for the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile, the Comelec central office declared its readiness to hold the national and local polls on Monday, May 12.
In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they are all set to conduct the elections in all the voting centers and polling precincts across the country.
"The Comelec is fully prepared for the coming elections," said Garcia.
Proof of this, he said, is the completion of the Final Testing and Sealing (FTS) of the automated counting machines (ACMs) in all the polling precincts.
He noted how only minor issues attended the FTS, particularly administrative matters.
"It's the first time we had an FTS that wasn't problematic. It was so successful as were able to seal all machines after they are tested," said Garcia.
He also said they are prepared for any potential problems that may arise come Election Day.
"What is most important is that our contingency measures are intact and we know what to do in such instances," said Garcia.
The poll chief said they are also closely monitoring possible peace order issues that may arise.
"So far, we aren't monitoring any untoward incident as of the moment," said Garcia.
The Comelec chief also reminded all national and local candidates that campaigning is already prohibited by Sunday as well as on Election Day. DEF with reports from SNS
