The participation follows a request from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara for the deployment of identified DepEd personnel to serve as members of the Random Manual Audit Teams (RMATs).
DepEd has approved the request, allowing selected teaching and non-teaching personnel to take part in the audit as secretaries and third members of the RMATs.
The personnel will assist in the manual audit process, including the counting and appreciation of votes for the electoral positions covered by the audit.
According to DepEd 11 Spokesman Jenielito Atillo during "Isyu Karon" media forum on Friday, September 11, the concerned DepEd personnel have prior experience as Electoral Board members during National and Local Elections.
For DepEd Region XI, the 17 personnel approved to serve as RMAT members are distributed as follows:
Davao del Sur — 11
Davao Occidental — 4
Davao City — 2 GalugarinAng Lungsod
Total — 17
The Random Manual Audit is scheduled to begin on September 18, 2026, and may continue until September 26, 2026, or until the audit has been completed.
The RMA is part of the election process intended to independently verify the accuracy of election results through a manual examination of selected ballots.
DepEd 11 Spokesman Jenielito Atillo