The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday it would set up voting precincts at malls during the 2025 midterm elections.
The pilot run of mall voting during the 2023 Village and Youth Council polls was a success, noted Comelec Chairman George Garcia.
“We will have voting in all malls in the country, especially in Metro Manila. It’s more comfortable, a bit colder, there is no vote buying, no violence, no dirt, no litter,” Garcia said.
This does not mean, however, that voting in schools will no longertake place, he added.
Meanwhile, Comelec will ask Congress for additional funds to pay for utilities and repair of damaged equipment during elections.
Garcia made the request after Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte asked the Comelec to shoulder the operating expenses of public schools during the electoral exercises.
The Vice President earlier expressed hope that school expenses duringelections will no longer be charged to the budget of the Department of Education (DepEd).
Duterte said she wished that the DepEd would no longer pay for the use of electricity and water in schools during the elections, adding that repair and utilities were being charged to the DepEd’s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) “despite not being part of our mandate.”
The Comelec uses public schools nationwide as voting centers during elections, while classrooms serve as polling precincts.
Garcia said Comelec was not aware of the issue, and that the poll body would consider including these expenses in the proposed amendments to the Omnibus Election Code which they intend to submit this year.
In another development, the Makabayan Bloc at the House of Representatives on Thursday sought a congressional inquiry into the controversies surrounding the Miru System in the past elections in other countries and how these will affect the integrity of the 2025 automated elections.
In House Resolution 1646, the Makabayan Bloc highlighted the alarming findings from past elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq, where Miru Systems’ technology raised significant concerns about ballot secrecy, vulnerability to hacking, and potential manipulation of election results.
“Despite these red flags, the Comelec proceeded with a joint venture with Miru Systems for the 2025 elections, raising doubts about the transparency and integrity of the upcoming electoral process,” the group said.
The group also appealed to the public to demand accountability from Comelec and Miru Systems and to push for the termination of the contract for the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC).
“Moving forward with Miru Systems as the AES provider for the 2025 elections disregards the constitutional mandate of COMELEC to ensure free, fair, and regular elections, the group said.