The Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported on Saturday, April 2, that it has already completed the printing of more than 67 million ballots for this year's national and local elections.
"The last of the 67.4M official ballots for the #NLE2022 was printed at approximately 10:28 AM today, April 2," the poll body posted on its official Twitter page.
The Comelec was able to finish two months after the National Printing Office began the printing of ballots.
"Comelec finished printing ahead of schedule. Target end date is April 25," it said. The ballot printing started last Jan. 23
Meanwhile, the poll body said these ballots “will go through verification process.” Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said a total of 178,990 ballots were tagged as "defective," while 319,138 were "quarantined."
In a related development, the poll body has also begun the deployment of automated election system (AES) supplies that will be used in the May elections.
On Friday night, April 1, trucks containing the vote-counting machines (VCM), consolidated canvassing system (CCS) laptops and peripherals, and transmission devices departed from the Comelec warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to regional hubs nationwide, the Comelec said.
“We will be dispatching at 12 tonight (April 2), these will be forwarded in our hubs in the province,” said Comelec Commissioner Aimee Ferolino on Friday night.
“We are on track. The dispatch of various election items, including AES supplies, is proceeding as planned,” said Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez.
“In keeping with the Commission’s commitment to full transparency in all stages of the election process, we have invited election stakeholders and members of the media to observe and cover the said activity,” he added.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) is among those that were invited to witness the dispatching of AES supplies from the Comelec warehouse in Laguna.
“We have about half a million volunteers at the PPCRV and they will certainly be there, waiting at the hubs to welcome the various paraphernalia, and from the hubs to the offices, and finally to the precincts,” said PPCRV Chairman Myla Villanueva.
“We are looking forward to an orderly process and so far, it has been that for us in our partnership with the Comelec,” she added.
The ongoing deployment of the different election-related equipment, peripherals, forms, and supplies that will be used in the May 2022 elections started last February. “First to be deployed were the VCM external batteries, non-accountable forms and supplies,” the Comelec said.
“After the dispatch of AES supplies, the official ballots and indelible ink will come next,” the Comelec said.