Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan on Friday, April 1, said all preparations for the May 2022 polls are now in full swing.

"As of today, we have merely 38 days before D-day—the May 9, National and Local Elections. And while I, only assumed office early last month, all preparations for the elections are in full swing. We had to hit the ground running," he said in his speech during the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in Parañaque.

"Thankfully, with the help of all Comelec officials, the preparations for the elections are well on schedule," he added.

Pangarungan reported the completion of the printing of manual official ballots, as well as the Final Testing and Sealing (FTS) ballots.

As for the automated election system (AES) official ballots, he said, around 94.68 percent of the 67 million ballots have already been printed.

Pangarungan said for transparency he also directed the livestreaming of activities in the National Printing Office (NPO), and the random ballot checking with representatives of the political parties, members of the media anf other stakeholders at the NPO.

"All these measures are being undertaken to make sure that your Comelec deliver fair and transparent elections," he said.

Meanwhile, the Comelec announced that it will begin the dispatch of automated election system supplies that will be used in the upcoming polls.

"At midnight today, trucks containing the vote-counting machine (VCM), consolidated canvassing system (CCS) laptops and peripherals, and transmission devices will depart from the Comelec warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to regional hubs nationwide," Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said in a statement.

"We are on track. The dispatch of various election items, including AES supplies, is proceeding as planned. 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 ongoing deployment of various election-related equipment, peripherals, forms and supplies that will be used in the 2022 polls began on February this year.

First to be deployed were the VCM external batteries, non-accountable forms and supplies.

After the dispatch of AES supplies, the official ballots and indelible ink will come next.

In compliance with election laws, the poll body said, prior notice has already been given to all political parties, political candidates, party-list groups and accredited citizen's arms of the Commission in early February.