The Commission on Elections (Comelec) says there will be no vote padding or vote shaving in the May 12 midterm polls.

In an interview at the sidelines of the signing of an escrow agreement between the Comelec and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday, Comelec chairman George Garcia said an electoral fraud is ''impossible'' with an automated election system (AES).

"We guarantee to everyone, and to the general public, having dagdag-bawas (vote padding, vote shaving) will be impossible in an automated election system," said Garcia.

Philippine elections have been held using an automated election system since 2010.

"Since the 2010 elections, a dagdag-bawas has never been found and proven even in just one polling precinct," said Garcia.

Garcia said the current system has several security and transparency features, such as transmission to multiple servers, visible ballot images, and random manual audit.

Vice President Sara Duterte said her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, was concerned over the possible "dagdag-bawas" attending the forthcoming polls. DMS