By By Juliane Judilla
The election watchdog Kontra Daya officially launched its Panay leg on March 17 in Iloilo City, in an effort to ensure the fairness of the upcoming 2025 Midterm Elections.
The event brought together various religious and cause-oriented groups, with the goal of establishing a strong regional network to monitor and expose electoral fraud, equip individuals and organizations with the necessary tools for voter education and election monitoring, and mobilize volunteers and build alliances to push for electoral reforms.
“Elections must be free from fraud, manipulation, and coercion, ensuring that every vote is counted accurately and transparently,” said Rev. Msr. Marco Sulayao, chairperson of the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR)-Panay and Guimaras, and lead convenor of Kontra Daya Panay.
“Our vision is a clear, transparent, and accountable electoral system that truly reflects the people’s will,” Msr. Sulayao added.
The Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU) shared their analysis of the Automated Election System, citing 321 cases out of 919 verified from 3,234 reported cases, signaling an increase in VCM errors compared to past election cycles at the end of the May 9, 2022, National Elections.
“There are still no significant changes in the 2025 elections regarding electoral fraud, given that the AES (Automated Election System) is still in place. The contractor has just been changed, the machines are new, and there are additional processes in voting,” Gladys Regalado of CPU said.
CPU added that with the introduction of the new FASTrAC (Full Automation System with Transparency Audit and Accounting) and the increasing political tensions in the country, proactive election monitoring is more urgent than ever. The group also called for a Hybrid Election System.
“It seems that the FASTrAC system is closed off to ensure that no electoral fraud happens during the voting and counting. However, malfunctions and ACM-level hacking may still persist,” Regalado stated.
“We are not after fast [counting of votes]; what’s the use if the people behind the voting system and its process are not trustworthy? That is why we push for a hybrid election system for a relatively more transparent and openly monitored voting system,” she added.
Atty. Wil Arceño, Provincial Election Supervisor VI and acting Regional Director of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Region VI, discussed election-related concerns such as premature campaigning, disinformation, the abuse of government resources, and the new COMELEC Resolution No. 1116 on the Anti-Discrimination and Fair Campaigning Guidelines for the 2025 NLBPE.
Kontra Daya was established in 2007 as a broad alliance dedicated to combating election fraud and ensuring fair and democratic elections. Since then, Kontra Daya has consistently monitored elections, exposed fraud, and pushed for electoral reforms./PT
