Comelec '100% ready' for Halalan 2025

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) assured Saturday that it is 100 percent prepared for the conduct of the national and local elections on Monday, 12 May.

Comelec Chairperson George Garcia attributed their readiness to their early preparations.

"Kahit ngayon, nararamdaman niyo parang mas relaxed ang atmosphere kung ikukumpara noong mga nakaraang halalan na hindi magkandarapa (Even now, you feel like the atmosphere is more relaxed compared to the previous elections that were frantic)," Garcia told reporters.

"Ayan po ang kagandahan ng maagang paghahanda. Therefore, kung may konting diperensya man, mayroon pang sufficient time, makakagawa pa tayo ng paraan (That's the beauty of early preparation. Therefore, if there's a slight challenge, there's still sufficient time, we can still find a way to address it)," he added.

Garcia also said that compared to the past elections, voters are more informed now.

Aside from that, the poll chief said the Comelec was able to counter misinformation and disinformation on social media.

Last year, the Comelec formed Task Force KKK (Katotohanan, Katapatan, at Katarungan), a committee tasked to monitor content posted on television, in radio, in print, and online, and debunk and combat fake news against the poll body, its officials, and the electoral process.

Further, Garcia said that the whole campaign period has been "peaceful," thus he is confident that the elections will be the same.

As of 9 May, the number of validated election-related (ER) incidents has rose to 40, this is lower compared to the 100 ER incidents logged in 2019 at 2022, according to Garcia.

He attributed the low number of ER incidents to more strict law enforcement presence and activities.

"Doon mo makikita na unti-unti nagbabago na ang kulay at mukha ng eleksyon sa ating bansa (There we can see that the color and face of elections in our country are gradually changing)."