The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilinas (KMP) condemns the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for its inaction and lack of transparency and accountability in the conduct of the 2025 automated elections. An uncertified version (3.5.0) of the Automated Counting Machine (ACM) software was used during the Final Testing and Sealing, while only version 3.4.0 was certified by the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC). This blatant breach of protocol raises serious doubts about the integrity of the electoral process. On top of this, COMELEC has yet to address multiple cases of election offenses pertaining to red-tagging, harassment, and disenfranchisement against Makabayan candidates and campaigners.

The unexplained software update without public disclosure opens the possibility for manipulation through code insertion. COMELEC must immediately disclose the nature of the revisions and justify why they were implemented without informing the public. This is not a mere technical concern—it is a grave issue of electoral integrity. Our votes must be verifiable and protected. We echo the call of Kontra Daya for manual counting at the precinct level before any electronic transmission to ensure that every vote is properly recorded and accounted for by poll watchers.

On a separate note, on the eve of the last day of campaigning, several reports describe caskets riddled with posters red-tagging Makabayan partylists were left by suspected state agents near Centris Mall and in front of Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City; near Himlayan de San Jose in Muzon, San Jose Del Monte City; in San Isidro, Tarlac City, and in Daraga, Albay. Made to look as if bloodied, the caskets imply impending death upon those who support Makabayan.

On May 10th, multiple Facebook pages claimed the disqualification of Bayan Muna Partylist using doctored headlines and Facebook posts of news outlets almost in a concerted effort. COMELEC has already clarified in a statement that the “disqualification” was fake news, but it has yet to launch an investigation to which parties were involved in the spreading of misinformation.

More cases of vandalized or destroyed campaign materials, militarized blockades, and intimidations were also experienced by Makabayan candidates and campaigners during the span of the campaign period.

Throughout the day, we anticipate the barrage of irregularities, election-related fraud and violence primarily targeting progressive groups. COMELEC’s failure to follow proper procedures undermines the credibility of the entire election. We call on all farmers, rural communities — who are usually in the blind spot of the media — to remain vigilant, resist all forms of election fraud, and demand full transparency from COMELEC. NTF-ELCAC must also be brought to question in its painfully obvious involvement in the nationwide smear campaign against Makabayan. ###