Quezon City: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on Saturday that it has completed the printing of over 68 million official ballots for the forthcoming national and local elections scheduled for May 12.
According to Philippines News Agency, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia revealed during a press briefing that a total of 68,542,564 ballots have been printed at the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City since the resumption of printing on January 27. Garcia expressed gratitude towards the NPO for overcoming initial challenges that arose at the beginning of the printing process, which commenced on January 27. He reiterated the commitment to completing the printing by March 15, a goal that was successfully achieved.
Garcia emphasized that the poll body managed to deliver on its promise despite encountering various obstacles along the way. He extended his appreciation to the NPO staff and Undersecretary Revsee Escobedo for their leadership and dedication in ensuring the timely completion of the task. Garcia clarified that the printed ballots are intended solely for the May 2025 elections and do not include test ballots or those designated for the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections, which have been rescheduled for October.
The final batches of ballots were printed on Saturday for Iloilo province and San Juan City in Metro Manila. The printing process had previously been suspended, and approximately six million ballots were discarded following multiple temporary restraining orders (TROs) issued by the Supreme Court. These TROs were a result of challenges against Comelec's decisions to disqualify certain candidates or label them as nuisance bets.
Garcia announced Comelec's plan to commence the deployment of the ballots by mid-April, with nationwide delivery set to begin in the second week of April. He also noted that around 34 million, or nearly half, of the printed ballots have already undergone verification. This verification process involves both manual checking and testing with automated counting machines.
