38 election hotspots monitored

MANILA, Philippines — Thirty-eight possible election hotspots, most of which are in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, are being monitored by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“We will have a special meeting for that on Nov. 15 to discuss the contingencies on what must be done to ensure safe and fair elections for everyone there,” Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said yesterday.

Casualties were reported in Albuera, Leyte, Remulla noted.

On Oct. 15, a supporter of controversial mayoralty candidate Kerwin Espinosa was gunned down in Barangay Tinag-an in Albuera, Leyte. Espinosa was previously tagged as a drug trafficker.

Meanwhile, Remulla said preparations for All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day and Christmas were also discussed at a sectoral meeting with President Marcos at Malacañang yesterday.

“Undas is not a big concern because if you look at the crime statistics of the past five years, it doesn’t climb that much. It’s just the travel that is burdensome,” he said.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will increase its visibility in crowded places, such as malls and public transportation, Remulla said.

“More important is the coming Christmas season. Come November, December, there’s an uptick in crimes against persons and property, especially in high-density areas,” he noted.

“We instructed the PNP to double their presence in malls, public transportation and LRT (Light Rail Transit) and MRT (Metro Rail Transit), where incidents of pickpocketing and snatching are common,” Remulla said.

Source code review

MANILA, Philippines — Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is encouraging interested parties to take part in the ongoing local source code review (LSCR) of the automated election system (AES) for the May 2025 midterm elections.

“Let us remember that everyone is monitoring the (vote counting) machines, but the most important is the transmission of results,” said Comelec Chairman George Garcia.

The Comelec is mandated to make the source code available and open to political parties or groups, which may conduct their own review.

The LSCR will cover the source codes of all systems that will used in the elections: the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count, election management system, automated counting machines (ACMs), consolidated canvassing system, Secure Electronic Transmission Services and online voting and counting system.

Garcia said the review will take two months to complete.

South Korean firm Miru Systems also called for more election stakeholders to participate in the LSCR.

“We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate the strength of our software, just as we have been welcoming the demonstration of our ACM technology since the start of our contract with the Comelec,” said Miru vice president for overseas sales Ken Cho. — Mayen Jaymalin