DESPITE the increase in personnel and automated counting machines (ACMs) used to verify official ballots for the May 2025 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said they are pushing back the deadline to April 20.
In an interview, Comelec chairman George Garcia said they will not be able to meet the poll body’s self-imposed April 14 deadline to complete the verification process because of the sheer number of printed ballots that need to undergo manual and machine verification.
“We will be adjusting by a few days our deadline originally targeted to be April 14. Instead of April 14, we may run until April 20,” Garcia said.
He said the poll body “lacks enough personnel even though we have already hired 1,000 workers to do the verification.”
Asked if resetting the verification process could cause delays in the shipment of the official ballots, Garcia answered in the negative.
“Around April 15 to 20, we are most likely verifying the ballots for the National Capital Region. Those already printed for other regions may be deployed as early as 1st week of April,” he said.
The Comelec has so far verified some 12 to 13 million official ballots printed by the National Printing Office (NPO) and Miru Systems.
Garcia said the NPO and Miru Systems have already printed 53 percent of the required 72,097,420 official ballots.
In a related development, President Marcos Jr. yesterday called on the AFP to ensure the peaceful, credible, and orderly conduct of the midterm elections this May.
In addressing newly-promoted AFP generals and flag officers and graduates of the Foreign Pre-Commission Training Institutions (FPCTI) after their oath taking ceremony in Malacañang, the President said the country is at a “critical juncture where we have to preserve not only the integrity of our election, but the very ethos of our democracy.”
“As a nation that deeply values and honors our right to vote, we are counting on the armed forces to ensure a peaceful, credible, and orderly conduct of the electoral process that the Filipinos expect from us. We cannot fail them,” he said.
The President also told the newly-promoted AFP officials and FPCTI graduates to stay “disciplined, patriotic, and ever-committed to the greater good for the greatest number.”
“Be assured that this administration stands with you side by side in upholding peace, democracy, and the rule of law,” he said as he also urged them to continue supporting the government’s efforts to push for a “secure, prosperous, and thriving Bagong Pilipinas.”
Meanwhile, the PNP yesterday said the number of individuals arrested for the election gun ban, which is being implemented for over a month now, has reached 1,057.
Citing information from the National Election Monitoring Center, the PNP also disclosed that the number of seized firearms from January 12 to February 19 has increased to 1,060.
The top three regions with the most number of arrested gun ban violators are National Capital Region (321), Central Luzon (168), and Central Visayas (142).
The PNP said 1,006 of the violators were civilians, including 22 security guards, seven soldiers, six policemen, four government officials, and four foreign nationals.
Meanwhile, the PNP said that of the 1,060 firearms seized during the period, 417 were revolvers and 318 were pistols.
The NCR also topped all regions in terms of seized firearms with 321, followed by Central Luzon with 165 and Central Visayas with 139.
The implementation of the election gun ban is in effect until June11.
Likewise, the PNP reported there is one validated election-related incident (ERI) in Western Visayas.
Fifteen incidents, earlier reported as suspected ERIs, were determined to be not related to the elections – six in Western Visayas, three in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, two in the Ilocos region, and one each in Central Luzon, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Soccsksargen. – With Jocelyn Montemayor and Victor Reyes
