Manila: Over 760 precincts in the country will be part of the Random Manual Audit (RMA) conducted immediately after the May 12 National and Local Elections (NLE), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on Monday.

According to Philippines News Agency, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia stated that a total of 762 polling precincts will be randomly selected following the scheduled elections. An electronic raffle system will be employed to choose these precincts for the RMA. This announcement was made during the launch of the Random Manual Audit Committee (RMAC) in Pasay City.

The audit will also include one Philippine post abroad that utilized the online voting system. Garcia mentioned that more Philippine posts abroad could be incorporated into the RMA, depending on requests from the Committee. The purpose of the RMA is to verify that the election results produced by voting machines align with the manually counted ballots, providing assurance to the public about the accuracy of the election outcomes.

Garcia urged the public, particularly those skeptical of the election results, to await the RMA outcomes, as they will confirm the accuracy of the machine-counted votes. Since the 2010 polls, RMA results have shown a 99.9 percent accuracy rate between manual and automated counts.

Comelec Resolution 11089 stipulates that the number of precincts covered by the RMA is determined based on the proportional number of clustered precincts in each legislative district across the nation. Additionally, only one Philippine post will be randomly chosen from those using the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS).

The RMAC, aside from comprising Comelec representatives, also includes members from the Department of Education, Philippine Statistics Authority, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections, Legal Network for Truthful Elections, and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants.