Legarda praises peaceful 2025 polls, pushes for public access to voting data

Senator Loren Legarda on Wednesday commended the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the peaceful and efficient conduct of the 2025 national and local elections, praising the agency for the swift transmission of results and overall transparency of the voting process.

“We must commend the Comelec for the professionalism and efficiency it demonstrated during the 2025 elections. The swift and credible transmission of results, coupled with a well-managed voting process nationwide, reflects years of institutional strengthening and reform,” Legarda said.

She also extended gratitude to the teachers, poll workers, and volunteers who helped ensure the success of the elections.

However, the senator raised concerns about reports of violence and criminal activity in several areas during the election period.

“It is deeply troubling that in this modern age, where the right to suffrage should be upheld by all, any form of suppression or violence has no place in our democracy,” Legarda said. She also thanked the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for their efforts in maintaining peace and order.

Legarda reiterated the state’s condemnation of election-related violence, calling it a threat to democratic integrity.

To further build on the gains of this year’s electoral exercise, the senator encouraged Comelec to release more anonymized, disaggregated election data to foster greater public engagement and civic understanding. She said this would help voters, especially the youth, make better sense of voting trends and their implications.

“We are in a unique position to bring our democracy to the next level. By releasing more open and granular data that is carefully curated to protect voter privacy, we can enable students, researchers, policymakers, and ordinary citizens to engage more critically with the electoral process,” she said.

“Understanding how young people vote, what issues resonate across age groups or regions, helps us listen better, govern better, and include better,” she added.

Legarda proposed that the Comelec develop a publicly accessible data platform featuring anonymized voting data disaggregated by age, gender, region, educational attainment, ethnicity, and other relevant indicators. She also suggested including basic candidate profiles such as reelection status or whether they are first-time candidates.

To ensure the quality and accuracy of these efforts, she recommended partnerships between Comelec and academic institutions or data experts.

“Transparency does not end at the ballot box. It extends to how we reflect on our choices, learn from our shared experience, and refine the democratic space we all inhabit. Comelec can continue to lead by example, not only in administering elections, but also in enriching the public’s understanding of how democracy works,” she concluded.