Comelec: 27M ballots printed since start of reprinting
Verifiers of the Commission on Elections inspect printed ballots for the May 12 national and local elections, at the Amoranto Sports Complex in Quezon City on Thursday (Feb. 13, 2025). (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)
MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has printed some 27 million official ballots since the start of the reprinting process in late January.
Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the poll body has so far covered 37 percent of a total of 72,107,420 official ballots to be printed for the May 12 polls.
“As far as ballot printing is concerned, we are so far so good. We have been exceeding our daily target of ballots to be printed,” he said during a press briefing at Amoranto Sports Complex in Quezon City on Thursday.
“By our estimates, we may be able to complete ballot printing around the second week to the third week of March, the most by March 19, as long as the performance of the machines remains,” he added.
The poll body opened a verification facility at Amoranto to fast-track the verification of printed ballots.
The facility will house some 250 automated counting machines and an additional 500 verifiers for the machine and manual verification processes, respectively.
“If we are able to verify one million per day here (Amoranto) and another one million per day at the National Printing Office (NPO), we will have two million per day for verification. That’s 20 million in 10 days. That’s a good output,” Garcia said.
Garcia said at least three million official ballots have undergone the verification process at the NPO, also in Quezon City.
Printing continues amid bets’ withdrawal
The poll body, meanwhile, said printing would continue despite the withdrawal of some aspirants from the senatorial race.
“In any case, whoever withdraws now, we will not change the printed ballot. We continue. We can no longer compromise the 27 million ballots we printed,” he said in a separate interview.
Garcia said the votes that will be garnered by bets that withdrew will not be counted.
“Therefore, all votes in case of those who withdraw will be strays,” he added.
Health advocate Dr. Willie Ong was the latest senatorial candidate to withdraw, citing health reasons.
“I am officially withdrawing my candidacy for the 2025 elections, so I can focus more on taking care of my health,” Ong said in a social media post.
Ong is battling sarcoma, a rare type of cancer, and is undergoing treatment abroad.
His wife, Liza, filed his candidacy in October last year.
Garcia said they will not require Ong to personally submit his statement of withdrawal.
“If there is a candidate, who cannot file his statement of withdrawal personally, we will accept it as long as he or she will present a certification from his or her doctor,” he added.
Early this week, AGRI party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee also withdrew from the Senate race because lack of machinery to mount a campaign.
