(Manila, 9th Comprehensive Report) The Philippine Commission on Elections launched a brand-new online voting system to increase the midterm election turnout, particularly encouraging overseas Filipino citizens to vote. However, this system has been criticized for displaying candidate information chaotically, leading voters to worry that their voting rights may be compromised.
The Philippines will hold its midterm elections next Monday (May 12). Since opening online voting for overseas voters on April 13, more than 134,000 voters have registered to use the system, accounting for over one-tenth of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters globally.
However, the chaotic operation of the system has sparked controversy. After voting, voters are taken to a page displaying a QR code to confirm whether the ballot was successfully submitted, but a string of jumbled codes and the names of all candidates appear at the bottom of the page, causing confusion.
Brasas, a voter working in Singapore, stated that the candidates displayed on the page are not the ones he voted for. He questioned the system as "confusing and non-transparent," and he prefers to continue voting using traditional paper methods.
Villanueva, a member of the Filipino Overseas Workers' Rights Organization (Bayan), also pointed out that voters are completely unable to verify if their ballots were correctly recorded and counted, "which raises doubts about whether the final results truly reflect public opinion."
In contrast, past overseas voting allowed voters to verify their selected candidates before submitting ballots, which helped improve trust.
The Commission on Elections responded that the QR code page is only for confirming that the system received the ballot, rather than displaying the voting content, and emphasized that the page was originally set to display the names of all candidates.
Director Gionang, responsible for overseas voting affairs, said that the commission is seriously listening to feedback from all parties and considering improvements for future elections.
However, election monitoring groups criticized the commission for failing to clearly explain the system's purpose, warning that this lack of transparency could undermine voter confidence and affect the fairness of the election.
Caritos, CEO of the nonprofit organization "Legal Network for Truthful Elections" (LENTE), pointed out that if voters lose trust in the online system, it could impact overseas voting participation in the 2028 presidential election. “We don’t want such a situation to arise. If voters lose trust in the election results, it may affect government legitimacy and even trigger a domino effect.”
This midterm election coincides with the tense political relationship between the Marcos and Duterte families, with the election results becoming a crucial indicator of their power struggle.
Market analysts pointed out that the uncertainty of the Philippine political situation may affect policy consistency and investor confidence. Ravi Las, Managing Director of Manila consulting company eMBM, said: “Against a backdrop of global uncertainty, the Philippines cannot afford the risks brought about by political instability.”