With the easing in Covid-19 restrictions, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is now looking to allow more observers to see their preparations for the May 9 polls.
"We are in a new environment now. That will, of course, give more room for more observers to pay attention to these venues that we have," Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said in a television interview Friday, March 11.
"It is good to have more transparency in the system. And with Covid-19 restrictions easing now, it is the right time to do that," he added.
Among the areas mentioned by Jimenez is the National Printing Office in Quezon City where the official ballots are currently being printed.
"It won't just be the servers, but also the National Printing Office and the Sta Rosa facility of the Comelec," he said.
The Sta Rosa warehouse in Laguna is where the vote counting machines are being configured and stored.
On Thursday, the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has urged the Comelec to open the ballot printing and the operations at the Sta. Rosa warehouse for observation by stakeholders and accredited citizens' arms.
In a statement, the group lamented how observation of the ballot printing at the NPO and in the operations at the Comelec Sta. Rosa warehouse has not been opened to election observation groups, including accredited citizens’ arms.