KABATAAN Partylist on Monday urged the Commission on Elections to implement a parallel manual vote counting system to ensure the integrity of the ongoing elections.

The call stems from last-minute software upgrades on Miru Systems’ Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) and multiple reported failures from various parts of the country.

“Since February 2024, we’ve flagged the history of Miru Systems in other countries, where machine failures occurred. In Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo, manual vote counts were implemented because Miru Systems’ machines didn’t work. Comelec should adopt the same policy now,” said Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel.

“It’s also troubling that there is still no clear explanation regarding the software upgrade of ACMs from version 3.4 to version 3.5,” he added.

Manuel stressed that Comelec must release a comprehensive update detailing what was changed in the software after it underwent the required review and certification.

“In fact, Comelec only finalized the certification a week before the elections — far from the three-month lead time required by law,” he said.

“With numerous verified reports of ACM and voting errors since this morning, the only way to ensure reliable election results is through a manual count to cross-check the automated results. In case of discrepancies, the manual count must prevail,” Manuel emphasized.