PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has printed 45.65 million ballots — 63.32% of the required total — for the May 12 national and local elections, it said on Tuesday.
As of Feb. 24, the poll body still needs to print 26.45 million ballots, Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia told reporters in a Viber chat.
The poll body aims to finish the printing on March 9 to 10, ahead of the May 12 midterm elections, using printers of the National Printing Office and Comelec’s poll automation partner, Miru Systems Joint Venture.
He earlier said they are exceeding their daily targets, printing about 1.7 million ballots every day.
The campaign period for senatorial and party list candidates started on Feb. 11, while local bets will start their campaign on March 28.
Up for grabs in the May 12 elections are 317 congressional seats and thousands of local posts. The biggest battle will be for 12 spots in the 24-seat Senate, a chamber packed with political heavyweights and wielding outsized influence. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana
