MANILA: The Senate on Monday decided to retain the PHP35.47 billion proposed 2025 budget of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), just like what the House of Representatives did. Senator Imee Marcos announced that the Committee on Finance upheld the proposed amount under the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), which is PHP4.912 billion less than the 2024 budget. According to Philippines News Agency, the budget reduction is primarily attributed to the decreased operations under the regular program in preparation for the local and national elections. This decrease stems from the leasing costs of new machines in 2024, amounting to PHP23.9 billion, and PHP12 billion allocated for charter change (Cha-cha) and plebiscite concerns. Consequently, both the House of Representatives' General Appropriations Bill and the Senate committee report maintained the proposed PHP35.47 billion budget as outlined in the NEP. The allocated budget will distribute PHP15 billion for the national and local elections scheduled on May 12, 2025, and PHP11.6 billion for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on December 2, 2025. A notable addition to the 2025 elections is the feature allowing voters to print receipts before transmitting their votes, enhancing the transparency of the voting process. The elections will employ automated counting machines functioning as stand-alone, battery-operated devices, capable of running for up to three days, thus eliminating the dependency on backup generators. Marcos also confirmed that Comelec will initiate a comprehensive nationwide voters' education program from December 2, 2024, to January 30, 2025, to ensure that voters are well-acquainted with the new system.