NBI urged to probe 2025 polls over anomalies

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was formally urged Thursday by a coalition of church leaders, retired military officers, and civil society groups to investigate possible irregularities in the 2025 national elections.

The complaint was filed by the Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan and the Council of Church Leaders for National Transformation, with lawyer and convenor Alexander L. Lacson leading the call to determine whether the poll results were manipulated.

“We’re not calling for a recount. We are not demanding the nullification of election results,” Lacson said during a press briefing. “We just want to know: Was there fraud, manipulation, or alteration of the results? Was there criminal culpability on the part of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC)?”

The group cited three key issues:

Unauthorized Software Replacement – Lacson claimed that while the election system was supposed to operate on version 3.40 of the automated software (certified and audited), machines used in the May 2025 polls allegedly ran on version 3.50, which was neither certified nor audited.

Bypassing of Transmission Protocols – Instead of sending results directly to the COMELEC central server and five transparency servers (including those of PPCRV, NAMFREL, media, and major political parties), the group claimed that data was first routed through an unverified “Data Center 3.” This detour allegedly allowed results to be processed and consolidated before reaching official transparency servers.

Potential Vote Manipulation – The coalition believes the rerouting of data could have enabled tampering with election results. “We want to know if there was alteration, manipulation, or fraud. That’s why we are asking the NBI to investigate,” Lacson said.

Lacson emphasized that the complaint was not politically motivated. “Not all Filipinos are blind, afraid, or asleep,” he said, addressing COMELEC Chairman George Garcia. “If there were any acts of wrongdoing, the long arm of the law will eventually catch up.”

The groups said they also plan to file a resolution urging the Senate to open an investigation into the matter and present their allegations in a public forum.