MANILA – Progressive coalition Makabayan is calling for manual counting amid reports of uncounted votes—due to “undervoting and overvoting”— that surfaced today on election day, and the reported change in software version of automated counting machines (ACM).

“If the software used is questionable, the results of elections are also questionable. If the machine fails to read the vote properly, it is a voter disenfranchisement and a violation of our rights,” said Makabayan in a statement released today.

Bulatlat received several reports of uncounted votes due to “overvoting and undervoting.” In a separate report by Vote Report PH and Kontra Daya, 42.11 percent of verified incidents as of 10 a.m. are related to ACM errors.

The election watchdogs also flagged the use of an updated software version on the ACM. Comelec’s Final AES Source Code Report indicates 3.4.0 as the software version to be used for the conduct of elections. However, Kontra Daya said that the ACMs in the final testing and sealing of machines use software version 3.5.0.

Comelec released a statement, saying that the two software versions are the same. “The 3.4 version in the Local Source Code Review Report is the same version that underwent the independent third-party audit after it passed, and it has been renamed to version 3.5,” Comelec said. 

Makabayan is not convinced. “The version that undergoes the source code review and independent certification should be the version used on the day of elections,” the coalition said.

Read: Groups raise alarm over ‘uncertified’ automated counting machines software update

With this, they called on Comelec to implement manual counting today. If the machine count differs from the manual count, the latter should be considered as the official election returns, Makabayan urged.

Former Bayan Muna representative and first nominee Neri Colmenares said, “It is our right and duty to ensure that every ballot is counted correctly, and that our votes truly reflect the will of the people.”

Gabriela Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas also underscored the Comelec’s failure to confirm whether the hashcodes between certified and updated versions remain identical. 

“In the middle of these anomalies, machine count can no longer be trusted. It is both timely and essential that we revert to manual counting to defend the people’s right to vote,” Brosas added.

Transparency advocates have long called for manual counting. In March this year, Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao said that the country’s election system should also incorporate manual counting to provide another layer of transparency, stating that the fate of elections cannot rely on machines forever.

The author of this report also experienced an ‘overvoting’ glitch in a partylist vote, despite voting for only one partylist. The technical support assigned to his precinct said that there is no way for them to challenge the result.

Bulatlat is consistently monitoring and reporting similar cases. Follow our live coverage here: www.bulatlat.com/halalan2025/

(RVO)