TAWI-TAWI — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has announced the successful completion of a transmission test in two municipalities of Tawi-Tawi, marking a significant step forward in the preparations for the 2025 midterm and Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) and Secure Electronic Transmission Services (SETS) projects were showcased during a Voter Education Seminar held in Bongao and Simunul. The Election Results (ERs) and Logs from these municipalities were successfully transmitted to the consolidated canvassing system (CCS) and servers, demonstrating the effectiveness of the technology being deployed. Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia led the seminar, which included demonstrations of automated counting machines (ACMs) and was attended by registered voters.
"During the pilot test transmission, both ACMs in Simunul and Bongao successfully transmitted the ERs and Logs to the Simunul CCS at 8:51 AM and Bongao CCS at 11:22 AM, as well as to six additional servers located at the Comelec Main Office in Intramuros, Manila," reported the Comelec. These servers included the central server, servers for the dominant minority and majority parties, a media server, and two citizens' arm servers—one for the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and one for the National Movement for Free Elections.
The successful test is part of Comelec’s extensive information campaign to familiarize voters with new voting technologies ahead of the upcoming elections. The FASTrAC project, a joint venture led by Korean firm Miru Systems, will provide 110,000 ACM units along with necessary peripherals, consumables, and technical support for the May 2025 elections. This marks a continuation of Comelec's efforts to modernize and secure the electoral process, building on past elections which utilized automated systems provided by Smartmatic International.