THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has reaffirmed its commitment to conducting transparent and fair elections, following reports from overseas Filipino voters about alleged irregularities in the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) during its use on April 13, 2025.
The issue gained public attention after Jefferson Salazar Bonoan, an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) based in Singapore, claimed in a viral Facebook post that his votes were not correctly counted. According to Bonoan, scanning a QR code after voting showed a different candidate selected on his behalf. His post has sparked widespread concern, with other overseas Filipinos sharing similar experiences.
In response, PDP-Laban senatorial candidate and lawyer Israelito Torreon announced via Facebook Live that the party had received multiple reports regarding online voting issues. Torreon said a committee would be formed to investigate the claims and launched a Facebook group called “Voteguard (Bantay Boto),” composed of law student volunteers, to collect complaints and assist affected overseas voters.
Comelec spokesperson and Education and Information Department Director IV, Atty. Jhon Rex Laudiangco explained that the OVCS is built to prioritize voter privacy and security. Instead of displaying only the voter’s selections, the system shows an encrypted script that includes all candidates’ names, making it impossible to identify individual choices.
“Pagkatapos bumoto ng registered overseas voter, agad na encrypted ng OVCS ang kanyang boto sa ginamit na electronic device. Ginagawa nitong ligtas ang boto sa interception, tampering o unauthorized access (After casting their vote, the overseas voter's selections are immediately encrypted using the provided device. This secures the ballot from interception, tampering, or unauthorized access)," Laudiangco said in a statement.
He added that voters can review their encrypted ballot through a unique Ballot ID, using a secure “plaintext hash” system that stores the ballot image and style. This includes the names of all senatorial and party-list candidates, along with the encrypted vote data—ensuring privacy while enabling verification.
Laudiangco also likened the OVCS process to the traditional automated counting machine (ACM), where photographing the Voter’s Receipt is prohibited to prevent vote-buying. Instead, the Ballot ID and Ballot Locator—both containing encrypted data—serve as tamper-proof records confirming that the vote was cast and counted.
Comelec Chairperson George Garcia acknowledged voter concerns about not seeing their selected names after submitting their votes. He clarified that this is a built-in security feature.
However, he said that verification will occur through a random manual audit and the involvement of independent election watchdogs like the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and Namfrel, who will translate encrypted data into human-readable results to ensure transparency.
Internet voting is currently active in 77 posts worldwide, including countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and several European nations. The voting period runs for 30 days and ends at 7:00 p.m. on May 12 (Manila time)—coinciding with the close of in-person voting in the Philippines.
The OVCS portal is accessible 24/7, allowing overseas voters to cast their ballots using smartphones, computers, or tablets with internet access. However, voters must first be enrolled for online voting to access the system.
Pre-voting enrollment is open until May 7, and eligible Filipino voters abroad can register at: https://ov.comelec.gov.ph/enroll.
As of April 14, over 55,000 overseas voters had enrolled for internet voting—representing only 4.6% of the total 1.241 million registered overseas Filipino voters. DEF