PLDT Inc (PLDT) is supporting the first regular Parliamentary Elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), providing connectivity and data center infrastructure for election-related operations.
In cooperation with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), PLDT will provide connectivity and digital infrastructure, while its VITRO data centers will house critical servers receiving election data transmitted directly from automated counting machines.
PLDT’s partnership with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on election technology began in 2016, when the country shifted to electronic counting machines, and was strengthened during the 2025 midterm elections.
“Reliable connectivity and secure digital infrastructure play a crucial role in enabling transparent and credible elections,” said Menardo Jimenez, COO, PLDT. ”As the Bangsamoro Region prepares for this historic electoral exercise, PLDT is honored to support Comelec, PPCRV and other election stakeholders in helping strengthen public trust in the electoral process.”
PLDT is also providing connectivity for the PPCRV Command Center at AMA and distributing prepaid SIMs to support election coordination and monitoring.
“Serving the Filipino people means safeguarding the sanctity of every vote,” said Victor Genuino, president and CEO, ePLDT and VITRO REIT Inc. “Through VITRO’s secure and mission-critical data center infrastructure, we are committed to protecting the integrity of election data entrusted to us.”
VITRO data centers use multiple layers of physical security and infrastructure designed to keep critical systems running. The facilities are engineered to withstand earthquakes up to Intensity 8 and have redundant generators and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems for continued operations during power outages. VITRO facilities are designed to deliver service level agreements of up to 99.99% uptime.
Scheduled for Sept. 14, the BARMM Parliamentary Elections are a major step in the region’s democratic transition and the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
The initiative adds to PLDT’s long-running support for election modernization and its broader efforts to expand digital access. These include the Bayanihan SIM Program, which provides free SIMs with mobile data to Filipinos in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs), as well as programs supporting digital services, entrepreneurship, and AI literacy.
PLDT and Smart recently received the “Bayani sa Last Mile” award from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for advancing digital transformation and countryside development across the Philippines.