Comelec warns against 2025 election ‘advanced victory’ scheme
MANILA, Philippines — Some aspirants in the 2025 elections have reported to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) an “advanced victory” scheme, in which they are made to pay a hefty sum to be declared winners, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Friday.
According to Garcia, this scheme was used during the past elections.
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“May mga nagpadala sa akin na mga politiko na sila ay inofferan na kukuhanan ng picture, ipapadala sa kanila, sure win na P100 million… Style yun, yung pagpapaadvance,” Garcia said on the sidelines of the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Comelec and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) at Pasay City.
(Some politicians have sent me reports that they were offered a scheme where a photo would be taken, sent to them, and they’d be assured a win for P100 million… It’s a tactic, this so-called “advanced victory” scheme.)
Garcia said that two national aspirants, four party-list groups, and many local aspirants, particularly from the National Capital Region, reported the tactic to the poll body.
“Palagay ko naman, ‘yung nagreport sa atin ay hindi nila pinatulan sapagkat di nila irereport yun kung pinatulan. Kaya lang hindi sila makalantad kasi ang katanungan, bakit mo kinausap in the first place so ibig sabihin, nag-entertain ka rin ng idea,” Garcia added.
(I think the ones who reported it didn’t take the offer because they wouldn’t report it if they had. They can’t just reveal themselves because the question is, why did you talk to them in the first place? It means that you entertained the idea.)
He also said that the scheme’s perpetrators introduced themselves as Comelec officials or claimed to have contacts with the Information Technology Department of Comelec and Miru Systems, the automated elections systems provider for the 2025 polls.
Garcia then confirmed that a past Comelec employee was involved in the scheme. However, he said that the past employee’s credibility should be questioned.
“Fourteen years na palang galing sa Comelec eh so paano mo pa masasabing connect mo pa yung mga tao sa Komisyon? Ni hindi nga nila alam kung paano ioperate ang machines so paano natin pagkakatiwalaan yun?” Garcia stated.
(It’s been 14 years since they were last with Comelec, so how can you still claim they have connections within the Commission? They don’t even know how to operate the machines, so how can we trust them?)
Garcia also said that the aspirants were promised that invisible markings could be embedded on ballots to reject the votes for their rivals.
“Alam nila na hindi kayang dayain sa makina kaya ang sinasabi nila para catchy, papel naman, kaya nilang gawan ng paraan,” he added.
(They know that the machines can’t be easily rigged, so they’re saying something catchy—just paper, and they think they can find a workaround.)
Garcia shared that the information they received from the reports will be handed over to the NBI to further assess the scheme.
