Comelec eyes December ballot printing deadline for barangay, SK polls

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia (Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is aiming to finish by December the printing of over 92 million ballots for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan(SK) election scheduled next year.  

“Hopefully, we finish the [printing] including the verification by mid-December,” Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in Filipino during the start of the printing process Monday at the National Printing Office in Quezon City. 

Garcia also explained that the Comelec began the printing earlier despite the elections being scheduled on November 2, 2026 to avoid overlapping of preparations with the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary elections.

READ: Comelec to resume voters’ registration third week of October 

He noted that as the Comelec targets to finish ballot printing this December, the ballot printing for the Bangsamoro elections is scheduled around February next year.

“If the printing for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections is delayed, it might overlap with the Bangsamoro elections,” he explained. 

He also said that the poll body does not want to compromise the quality of the materials for the ballots they will print. 

“The materials, like paper, are already here. We don’t want them to go to waste as there is a tendency for the paper, once stored for a long time, to have discoloration,” said Garcia. 

With this, Garcia said that the verification of ballots will be less difficult than the verification process for automated elections.

He explained that common problems seen during the verification for a manual election are discoloration, unlike in the ballots for automated polls which are more sophisticated. 

READ: Comelec terminates preparations for BSKE after postponement

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