Comelec starts destruction of rejected Eleksyon 2025 ballots
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday started the destruction of 6.7 million unused official ballots and accountable forms printed for the conduct of the 2025 national and local elections (NLE).
Commissioner Rey Bulay, commissioner-in-charge for the Committee on Ballot Printing, led the disposal of the rejected ballots at the National Printing Office in Quezon City .
Comelec personnel will be tearing the rejected ballots before their transport to a disposal facility in Pampanga for direct melting. The process is expected to last for ten days.
'Ito ang pagpapatunay ng inyong commission…ng accountability, security, at transparency nitong election. Mula sa procurement ng printer, papel, pag-iimprenta, saksi kayong lahat,' said Bulay.
(This shows the commission's commitment for accountability, security, and transparency this elections. From the procurement of the printer, paper, and printing, you witnessed it all.)
'Wala kaming itinagong proseso sa inyo. Mula doon hanggang ideploy ang mga balota at ngayon hanggang sunugin natin ang mga hindi valid na ballots para hindi magamit hanggang kailan,' he said.
(We never hid any part of the process from the deployment to the destruction of the ballots.)
Meanwhile, the number of invalid ballots increased from 3 million to 6.7 million for the 2025 polls, said Bulay. These included those with tear or smudges.
'Ngayong eleksyon, we doubled from the last one. 3 million lang ang invalid ballots from the last election, ngayon 6.7million. Mas maraming printing, mas maraming error, tapos may temporary restraining order pa tayo,' he added.
(The number of rejected ballots doubled this year. From 3 million last elections, it is now at 6.7 million. That is because we printed more ballots and encountered more errors. We also faced a TRO.)
The Comelec completed the printing of over 68 million ballots for the 2025 May polls after the process hit a snag in January following the Supreme Court's issuance of temporary restraining orders against the disqualification of some aspirants.
The poll body deputized the National Printing Office in January, allowing the use of the latter's four printing machines and two machines procured by Miru Systems Inc. to ensure the "proper, satisfactory, and timely" completion of the reprinting of the official ballots for the elections. The Philippines held its midterm elections on May 12.—AOL, GMA Integrated News
For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.
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