The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on 24 March 2025 completed the deposit in escrow of the Final Trusted Build Source Codes for the 12 May 2025 National and Local Elections. This is in compliance with Republic Act No. 8436, as amended by R.A. No. 9369, otherwise known as the “Automated Elections System Act.”
The deposited items included the source codes for the Automated Counting Machine (ACM), the Consolidation and Canvassing System (CCS), the Election Management System (EMS), the Secure Electronic Transmission System (SETS), and the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS). Together, these components form the Automated Elections System.
Held at the BSP Head Office in Manila, the deposit in escrow was led by COMELEC Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia and BSP Officer-in-Charge Elmore O. Capule, with COMELEC Commissioners Rey E. Bulay and Nelson J. Celis and BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat. Representatives from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, the National Movement for Free Elections, and the media also stood as witnesses.
Prior to the deposit, COMELEC and the BSP formalized the signing of an escrow agreement.
The source codes, which are stored in digital media storage devices after having undergone the Full Final Trusted Build International Certification and Local Source Code Review, ensure election accuracy, credibility, transparency, and auditability in all of the following electronic processes:
- the counting, consolidation, and canvassing of votes, election returns and certificates of canvass, by the ACM, OVCS, and CCS;
- the transmission of electronic election results thru the SETS; and
- the overall management of the automated elections via the EMS.
The source codes for the 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022 National and Local Elections remain deposited inside the BSP’s vaults, underscoring the BSP’s commitment to safeguard the integrity of the country’s electoral processes.
