The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday assured that all security measures are put in place for the 2025 national and local elections.

This after National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya sounded the alarm on a possible foreign interference during the midterm polls.

Malaya cited the persistent attack from “foreign sources” as reported by the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

In a Viber message to reporters, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia stressed the poll body is starting to prepare as early as now on how to protect the integrity of the electoral process and protect it from cyber attacks.

“That is what we are doing. The reason why the preparation is early. Procurement is timely. This ensures that the system is tested and all security measures are put in place,” Garcia said.

“The features and the wish lists that we included in the hardware, software and transmission ensure the protection against any cyber attack,” he added.

Garcia also underscored that “vigilance is crucial.”

“Of course the readiness of our IT personnel matters much coupled with our learnings from the past,” he said.

“Most important of all is the support of all stakeholders in the electoral process and the critical collaboration with the electorate,” he added.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Office for Overseas Voting and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to facilitate overseas voting.