Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Residents of Barangay Horseshoe cast their votes for the midterm elections at Clustered Precinct 991 at  a mall in Quezon City on May 12, 2025. Gigie Cruz, ABS-CBN News

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174712032218020250512-halalan-pwds-cainta-MT16.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">People with disabilities (PWD) wait in line to cast their votes at Tahanan ng Walang Hagdanan in Cainta, Rizal on May 12, 2025. The facility serves as a special polling station equipped with ramps, wide entryways, and an express lane to ensure accessible voting for PWDs. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p>MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday received citation for some of its &quot;innovative&quot; efforts to encourage more Filipinos to vote during Monday&#x27;s midterm polls, but was also called out over the perennial issue of election-related violence and disenfranchisement. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/12/kudos-to-the-filipinos-ph-closes-midterm-polls-with-unexpected-turnout-2015">&#x27;Kudos to the Filipinos&#x27;: PH closes midterm polls with &#x27;unexpected&#x27; turnout</a></div><p>The Comelec has yet to release the official figure on voter turnout for the May 12 poll but Comelec chairman George Garcia earlier said the number of voters who braved the sweltering heat just to vote was &quot;unexpected.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/12/senior-citizens-question-priority-polling-place-system-2124">Senior citizens question priority polling place system, insist they cast vote themselves</a></div><p>The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in a post-election statement acknowledged some of the &quot;innovations&quot; Comelec implemented for this election cycle, particularly the mall voting and the early voting mechanism. </p><p>The latter allowed senior citizens, PWDs, and pregnant women to vote as early as 5 a.m. or 2 hours ahead of the general population.</p><p>&quot;The CHR appreciates the innovation of early voting for persons with disabilities, older persons, and pregnant women,&quot; although it noted that these were &quot;undermined by poor accessibility in many polling centers.&quot; </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/12/more-than-3-000-persons-deprived-of-liberty-vote-1457">More than 3,000 persons deprived of liberty vote</a></div><div>Meanwhile, the CHR also commended the &quot;successful participation&quot; of members of the Badjao Indigenous community in Barangay Manapa, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte as a &quot;notable gain.&quot;<span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:867px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174712028171920250512-halalan-dumagat-remontado-JC1636.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Members of the Dumagat-Remontado indigenous group cast their votes at the Mababang Paaralan ng Nayon in Sta Inez in Tanay, Rizal on May 12, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p>&quot;This milestone underscores the importance of local and national efforts to dismantle barriers to indigenous peoples’ political participation. </p><p>The CHR also lauded Comelec panels that flagged vote buying, fake news, and misogynistic and discriminatory remarks that led to the issuance of several show cause orders against candidates.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/8/comelec-declares-election-campaign-areas-safe-space-1929">Comelec declares election campaign areas ‘safe space’</a></div><p>&quot;With Comelec Task Force SAFE, the landscape of the election has been changed. Candidates are now required to use respectful language and to act in a manner that gives due regard to the human rights and dignity of all,&quot; the CHR said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;DISTURBING PATTERN&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:867px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174712008523720250512-halalan-mall-voting-horseshoe-GCS6467.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Residents of Barangay Horseshoe cast their votes for the midterm elections at Clustered Precinct 991 at  a mall in Quezon City on May 12, 2025. Gigie Cruz, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></strong></div><div><strong></strong><br/></div><p>But the CHR, as well as other election watchdogs, also called out several issues that plagued the midterm polls.</p><p>&quot;Election-related violence continued to be a pressing concern... Incidents of ambushes and armed confrontations involving political actors were documented in [some] regions, threatening the right of voters to participate in free and secure elections,&quot; the CHR said.</p><p>The International Observer Mission (IOM), a delegation of human rights advocates, also flagged the &quot;intensification&quot; of election-related violence and rights violations.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/5/12/2-dead-5-wounded-in-silay-city-shooting-0937">2 dead, 7 wounded in Silay City shooting on election day</a></div><p>Citing report from its partner Vote Report PH, IOM said it recorded 1,445 incidents of red-tagging in relation to the midterm polls.</p><p>&quot;We’ve observed a disturbing pattern: escalating violence, red-tagging of candidates and supporters, and coordinated disinformation against progressive voices,” said IOM commissioner Colleen Moore.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/5/13/explosions-hit-3-bangsamoro-towns-on-election-day-1-hurt-1434">Explosions hit 3 Bangsamoro towns on election day; 1 hurt</a></div><p>IOM also noted &quot;severe voter disenfranchisement&quot; due to malfunctioning automated counting machines (ACMs).</p><p>“These aren’t just technical glitches, we are seeing failures that are disenfranchising thousands of Filipinos at a critical democratic moment,” said Commissioner Lee Rhiannon, a former Australian Senator. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/13/comelec-debunks-dagdag-bawas-on-election-result-1310">Comelec debunks ‘dagdag-bawas’ on election result</a></div><p>On Monday, Comelec said 311 ACMs needed to be replaced during election day, adding that it was significantly fewer than the 2,500 Smartmatic election machines that broke down in 2022.</p><p>“While these findings remain initial, our mission expresses deep concern over the conditions under which the 2025 midterm elections were held,” Rhiannon said.</p><div><strong>ABS-CBN&#x27;s online portal of partial, unofficial results of the 2025 national and local elections can be viewed </strong><a href="https://halalanresults.abs-cbn.com/"><strong>here</strong></a><strong>.</strong></div><div><strong>Filipinos worldwide can also stay updated on election-related news and results via the “</strong><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/halalan-2025"><strong>Halalan</strong></a><strong>” page on ABS-CBN.com.</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hgwg3iQC4Qc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The Commission on Elections on Tuesday received citation for some of its "innovative" efforts to encourage more Filipinos to vote.</p>

The Commission on Elections on Tuesday received citation for some of its "innovative" efforts to encourage more Filipinos to vote.

Halalan 2025: CHR hails 'innovative' efforts by Comelec; watchdogs decry violence, glitch

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Halalan 2025: CHR hails 'innovative' efforts by Comelec; watchdogs decry violence, glitch

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 13, 2025 03:29 PM PHT

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