With election season in full swing, it’s likely you’ll find at least one story in the news every day about campaigns, or statements from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The Philippine election system has a handful of jargon or acronyms that you might come across as you read the news.
We’ve compiled a list of buzz words that you might hear and what they mean to help you make sense of information during the election season. These are based on previous news gathering efforts and election laws like the Omnibus Election Code and Republic Act No. 9369, the measure authorizing the Comelec to conduct an automated election system.
Automated counting machine (ACM) – A machine that uses optical scanning, mark-sense reading, or other technology to count ballots. Voters feed their ballots into ACMs on election day.
Automated Election System (AES) – The electronic system used for voting, counting, consolidating, canvassing, and transmission of election results and other electoral processes. The AES consists of four parts: consolidation and canvassing system (CCS), election management system (EMS), secure electronic transmission system (SETS), and overseas voting and counting system OVCS. (READ: How does the PH automated election system work?)
Ballot – The paper ballot representing votes cast by a voter to be recorded.
Canvassing – The consolidation and verification of tallied votes after they have been counted at the precinct level. There are levels of canvassing, from local government boards, to when the Comelec and Congress — as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) — canvass votes to officially proclaim a winning president, vice president, senators, and party-list representatives.
Certificate of canvass – A document containing the total votes in figures obtained by each candidate in a city, municipality, district, or province. The electronic certificates of canvass are the official canvass results.
Consolidation and canvassing system (CCS) – A system that receives and processes election returns.
Contribution – A gift, donation, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value for the purpose of influencing the results of the elections. This could also be in the form of contracts, promises, or an agreement to contribute, as well as facilities voluntarily donated by others. This does not include compensation to volunteers of political parties.
Counting – When vote-counting machines count votes, in the form of shaded ovals, of individual ballots.
Election management system (EMS) – The core of the AES, this system sets up the automation of the polls and manages election-related data. It imports pre-election data files, like geographical subdivisions, voting jurisdictions, number of registered voters, candidate details, and information on the members of the board of election inspectors.
Escrow – Used in context related to the AES source codes, escrow refers to how the Comelec turns over source codes to the Bangko Sentral ng PIlipinas for safekeeping.
Internet voting – The new form of voting in the 2025 elections for overseas voters, where Filipinos abroad will cast their votes via a secure online platform provided by the Comelec.
National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) – The NBOC tallies the final number of votes for national positions. For senatorial and party-list elections, the Comelec en banc sits as the NBOC. For presidential and vice-presidential elections, Congress serves this function.
Oplan Baklas – The Comelec’s campaign to remove illegal election materials, with the help of uniformed personnel and local government enforcers.
Overseas voting – The election process conducted for overseas Filipinos, where Filipinos registered in embassies or consulates abroad cast their votes via the internet, by mailing their ballots, or personally showing up at the posts.
Overseas voting and counting system (OVCS) – The component of the AES that counts online votes from overseas voters.
Poll watchers – Persons appointed by candidates or the Comelec to watch election proceedings and receive signed copies of election results after the completion of canvass.
Polling place/precinct – The assigned places where voters cast their votes, and where the board of election inspectors conducts proceedings. Polling places may also be designated as counting centers.
Pre-enrollment – The first step of internet voting for overseas Filipinos, where voters in areas assigned to internet voting verify their identity with the platform to be used for the month-long voting period.
Returns – Returns, or election returns (ERs), are documents produced by the counting or voting machine that shows the votes in figures for each candidate. The documents contain the date of the election, along with the province, city or town, and the precinct in which it was held.
Source code – Human-readable instructions that define what a computer will do. It is a blueprint, or software, of the automated election.
Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) – A document required from every candidate and political party indicating the full, true, and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the election. Candidates and political parties must submit this to the Comelec not earlier than 10 days before election day, and not later than seven days after the election.
Statement of votes – A document containing the votes obtained by candidates in each precinct in a city or municipality.
Transmission – When data is conveyed in electronic form from one location to another. The AES includes a secure electronic transmission system.
Transparency server – A server that shows real-time results to election watchdogs, political parties, and media. From vote counting machines (VCMs), ERs are transmitted to the central server, transparency server, and the municipal board of canvassers.
Trusted build – A process that converts source codes, written in human-readable programming language, into an executable file that computers can interpret.
Vote-buying – The act of giving, offering, or promising money or anything of value, or causing an expenditure to be made to any person, association, corporation, entity, or community to induce anyone, or the public in general, to vote for or against any candidate. Vote-buying or selling is an election offense.
– Rappler.com