THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said the National Printing Office (NPO) will continue to print the official ballots for the May 2025 national and local polls.
Elections chairman George Garcia will print the estimated 3,881,894 official ballots as mandated by the Omnibus Election Code.
“We always see to it that we fully comply with the law and our Terms of Reference (TOR),” said Garcia.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, the official ballots and election returns shall be printed by the National Printing Office and/or the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) printing facilities “exclusively,” and under the supervision and control of the Commission.
Garcia said the contract between the Comelec and the Miru Systems joint venture states that the latter will provide the ballot printing system, ballot paper, ballot verification system, equipment and all other related goods and services to the NPO, which shall be the one to print the official ballots.
To note, the ballot printing, ballot paper, and ballot verification services is part of the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) project won by the Miru JV.
As part of the P17.9 billion contract, Miru Systems has partnered with information technology company Hewlett-Packard (HP) for the use of its modern printing equipment called HP PageWide Advantage 2200.
In a statement, Miru Systems vice president Ken Cho said their decision to partner with HP only shows their commitment to providing the Comelec with the best services.
“Investing in two new HP PageWide Advantage 2200 reaffirms our commitment to Philippine Commission on Election to ensure a seamless electoral process, (while) promoting transparency and reliability,” said Cho.
Garcia welcomed the introduction of modern printing technologies by Miru in the forthcoming midterm elections saying it can help enhance voter interest in the poll exercises.
