Comelec: No postponement of May 2025 automated polls

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ON the heels of the suspension of the printing of official ballots, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday assured the public that this year’s May 12 national, local, and Bangsamoro parliamentary polls will push through.

In a press conference, Elections chairman George Garcia also said the Comelec will use the automated election system (AES) provided by its service provider, Miru Systems, during the elections.

“The elections is on May 12 this year. It will not be reset because it is provided for by the Constitution. And we are not thinking of any postponement,” Garcia said.

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“We will proceed with the automated elections because that is the law. The Commission does not have any intent to violate the law,” he added.

The Comelec’s assurance comes a day after it ordered the National Printing Office (NPO) to suspend the printing of the official ballots to be used during the polls following the Supreme Court’s (SC) issuance of five temporary restraining orders (TROs) against the poll body’s decisions to disqualify two candidates, declare two aspirants as nuisance bets, and refusal to accept the certificate of candidacy (COC) of another aspirant.

Garcia admitted that the TROs and the subsequent suspension of ballot printing and other peripheral activities are setbacks in their preparation for the May 12 polls.

“As it is, we are already delayed… All the activities related to the ballots will have to be pushed back,” he said, adding that “this will be the first time in our electoral history that the Comelec will order a reprinting (of ballots), we are back to zero.”

Nevertheless, the poll chief said the Comelec is prepared for such circumstances and predicaments.

“Please don’t be worried. We are in control of the situation. We have contingency mechanisms for cases such as this,” he said.

Garcia said they are looking at Monday as the possible start of the ballot reprinting once they complete the necessary adjustments.

These include changes in the Election Management System (EMS), generation of new ballot faces, and serialization, among others.

He said they are considering using the four printers of the NPO to complement the two printers provided by Miru Systems to compensate for the lost time,

He said Comelec personnel are now reconfiguring and evaluating the compatibility of the NPO printers with those of Miru.

As for the six million ballots already printed, Garcia said they will need to be shredded as provided by their guidelines.

He said they have sought the approval of the Commission on Audit (COA) after completing its inventory and accounting.

“We recommended that all previously printed official ballots be destroyed to prevent its unauthorized use subject to the pertinent rules and regulations,” he said.

QUIBOLOY DQ

The Workers and Peasant Party (WPP) yesterday asked the SC to reverse the Comelec decision and declare senatorial aspirant pastor Apollo Quiboloy a nuisance candidate in the May 2025 polls.

In a statement, the WPP insisted that Quiboloy must be declared a nuisance bet and that the Comelec erred in dismissing its petition.

“Quiboloy is making a mockery of the electoral process by using it as a smokescreen for the many cases he is facing,” said WPP.

“We urge the Supreme Court to ensure that the electoral process upholds the principles of fairness, accountability, and equal protection,” it added.

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WPP president Jose Sonny Matula has previously asked the Comelec to declare Quiboloy as a nuisance candidate.

The petition was junked by the Comelec First Division, which ruled that the complaint was unmeritorious. It said that the pastor cannot be declared as a nuisance candidate “based merely on speculations and the unsubstantiated allegations” of WPP. 

It also said that their rules prohibit that a petition to declare one as a nuisance bet be combined with other prayers.

Matula filed a Motion for Reconsideration, which the Commission en banc junked, saying that the appeal offered “no valid ground” that merits the reversal of the original ruling.

The WPP said the Comelec’s practice of splitting causes of action is questionable as it fragments cases into separate issues.

“This procedural approach burdens petitioners and delays justice, creating opportunities for respondents like Quiboloy to exploit these inefficiencies,” said WPP.

It also accused the Comelec of having “double standards” in enforcing procedural rules after Quiboloy supposedly failed to file a timely response.

“While Comelec rigidly enforces procedural requirements against petitioners, it has shown undue leniency towards Quiboloy. Instead of sanctioning this violation, Comelec dismissed the WPP’s petition, effectively rewarding non-compliance and undermining public trust in its impartiality,” said the WPP.

Lastly, the party said the decision of the Comelec reflects unequal treatment of candidates, as it favors “powerful figures” like Quiboloy, while disregarding the rights of aspirants such as Sultan Subair Mustapha of WPP.

“This selective enforcement of rules contradicts the constitutional guarantee of equal protection, which ensures fair treatment for all candidates,” said WPP.

Quiboloy is one of the 66 senatorial aspirants running in the May 2025 polls.

Meanwhile, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora lauded the SC decision overturning the cancelation of the COC of basketball star Renren Ritualo who is running for city councilor.

Zamora said this is good news to San Juaneños who believe in Ritualo.

NPA THREAT

The Philippine Army yesterday said the communist New People’s Army (NPA) is no longer capable of influencing the result of the national and local elections owing to their dwindling strength.

“With its current state, the New People’s Army no longer has the capability to influence the coming elections this year,” Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala said.

“Their influence in the barangays is already gone because we (military) already dismantled their (rebel) structure in these areas,” he also said.

Authorities have earlier said the NPA’s strength is down to just around 1,000 men from a high of about 25,000 in the 1980s. Also, they said the NPA is left with just one “weakened” guerrilla front at present.

Dema-ala said people, including politicians, are already aware that the NPA is merely involved in extortion during elections, through the rebel group’s permit to campaign and permit to win schemes.

“They are already aware so the NPA will have a hard time influencing the politicians and the people to vote certain candidates,” he said.

Dema-ala said the military will continue to sustain relentless operations against the remaining NPA rebels throughout the country.

“Our internal security operations will continue, there will be no let up,” said Dema-ala.

“The Philippine Army, particularly our units in the field, will continue to be vigi lant and will continue to conduct internal security operations to ensure the elections will be peaceful and orderly,” he added.

Dema-ala said the Army has yet to receive reports about the NPA demanding permit to campaign and permit to win fees from candidates.

He appealed to candidates not to give in to the demand of the NPA. “We call on them to refrain from giving in to the extortion demands of the New People’s Army because this is against our anti-terror law,” he said, noting that this is tantamount to giving financial support to the rebels.

“We are reminding them not to give in to the extortion demands and if possible, coordinate this with the nearest Philippine National Police or Philippine Army units to immediately address this,” he said. – With Christian Oineza and Victor Reyes

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