Despite delays encountered in the past few weeks, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is still keen to finish printing the ballots for the May 2025 election by April 14 as it resumed on Monday, January 27.
"Sa ating palagay kakayanin yung April 14 na deadline pa rin na sinet ng Comelec (In our opinion, we can still meet the April 14 deadline set by the Comelec)," Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said.
"Inatasan po natin ang ating mga tauhan at pinakiusapan ang National Printing Office na kahit gabi ay mag-iimprenta tayo ng balota. Kaya mayroon po tayong day shift at saka night shift (We have instructed our staff and requested the National Printing Office to print the ballots even at night. That's why we have both a day shift and a night shift)," he added.
Garcia also mentioned that they have notified the Supreme Court (SC) that they will resume printing of the ballots.
Asked on what will happen if the SC issues another Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), Garcia only stated that at this point, they have already informed the High Court that they will be printing the ballots. He added the during the time of Comelec before, they disregarded the SC.
This time, Garcia said that the poll body complied with the SC wherein they demonstrated our respect for the SC.
"As I said, as long as we can follow and comply, the Commission will do so. It’s important for everyone to understand that we are running out of time. What we lost is difficult to recover," he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Prior to the resumption of ballot printing, Comelec and NPO, came together for a memorandum of agreement for the new contract. Four more machines from the NPO will be used, adding to the two state-of-the-art HP printers provided by Miru Systems. The ballots are still expected to be finished within three months.
To meet this deadline, the NPO aims to print around 1.5 million ballots per day. This 1.5 million includes the ballots expected from the Miru printers. But Garcia said that this is just a conservative estimate from them since NPO was capable of printing a million ballots before and if more can be done, he said that it's better. He also reminded that they cannot keep on rapidly printing ballots since there's still verification conducted.
Through Resolution 11096, the NPO has been deputized by Comelec in connection with the printing of official ballots for the May 12, 2025, National and Local Elections and the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections.
Garcia said that the NPO was given the authority to do everything necessary to ensure all ballots will be printed on time, adding that this is the first time the poll body deputized the NPO.
"Ang importante masimulan na ang pag-imprenta ng balota. Wala na po tayong panahon. Sabi ko nga we will have to print the ballots at all costs today and therefore asahan niyo yung puyatan pag-extra efforts ng taga-NPO, Miru, at Comelec para lang masigurado natin yung balota (What's important is we begin printing the ballots. We don't have much time left. As I mentioned, we need to print the ballots at all costs today, so therefore expect late night work and extra efforts from the NPO, Miru, and Comelec staff to ensure that the ballots ready)," he said.
The poll chief added that should they encounter any hindrance or cause of delay to the ballot printing, they would still proceed.
"Basta kung meron man, asahan po ninyo we will proceed as is and accordingly sa atin pong printing ng balota. At this point, our commitment is we will proceed because masyado na maraming mga hindrances nung nakaraan and therefore, hindi na tatanggapin ng sambayanang Pilipino sa part namin sa Comelec, kung magkakaroon pa kami ng mga kadahilanan (Rest assured, if there are any issues, we will proceed as planned with the printing of the ballots. At this point, we are committed to moving forward because there have been too many obstacles in the past, and the Filipino people will no longer accept any reasons from us at the Comelec if we encounter more)," he explained.
For the part of Miru, it stated that the notice of partial termination of its contract notes that NPO can also use their printers and help meet the crucial April deadline. The ballots for the National Capital Region, Cordillera Autonomous Region, Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Region 4a, Region 5, and Mimaropa will still fall under Miru’s contract.
“We all share the same goal of ensuring a smooth election for the nation, and are confident in the NPO’s ability to support this endeavor with their successful track record in previous Philippine elections” shared Miru Project Managing Director Mr. Andrew Shim.
“It is vital that the ballots are printed on schedule so that we can properly deliver all peripherals to the different regions around the country,” he added.