Comelec finalizes preparations for Random Manual Audit of ballots

A total of 60 tables were set at the Citadines Bay City Manila in Pasay City, where the teams from the DepEd will be auditing the ballots.

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has finalized its preparations for the conduct of the law-mandated Random Manual Audit (RMA) for the 2025 midterm elections.

The Comelec said on Tuesday that the RMA is set to begin on Wednesday morning, with 762 manually selected ballot boxes from various precincts set to be audited by 60 teams from the Department of Education (DepEd) who did not serve as electoral board members.

READ: Random manual audit to start Wednesday – Comelec

“[The auditors] underwent training from April 28 to 30, and also went through certification exams…we’ve made sure that they’re equipped to conduct the audit,” Director Abigail Claire Llacuna of the Comelec Education and Information Department told reporters during a walkthrough of the RMA.

A total of 60 tables were set at the Citadines Bay City Manila in Pasay City, where the DepEd teams will be auditing the ballots.

The room is accessible only to Comelec and its partner staff, and it is heavily secured with locked doors and manual elevators.

The media will only be allowed to view the auditing room in person during a specific period, while a separate viewing room is open 24/7 to the public so that auditors will be able to do their jobs with as few distractions as possible, the Comelec explained.

When asked what would happen if discrepancies are recorded, Llacuna said the ballots would be sent to the evaluation committee to determine the cause of the discrepancy.

Such an event, however, would only occur should discrepancies be recorded in at least 10 ballots; anything less is not a cause for alarm./mcm