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MANILA, Philippines — With just over a month before the May 12 midterm elections, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Philippine National Police (PNP) have intensified their coordinated efforts to ensure a secure and credible electoral process.
On Friday, the three agencies formalized their partnership by signing a memorandum of agreement at the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia spearheaded the ceremonial signing alongside PNP Chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil and AFP vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Jimmy Larida, who represented AFP Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.
“As stipulated in this agreement, (we are) committed to ensuring that the 2025 national and local elections are conducted in a free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible manner in adherence to the Constitution,” said Larida.
Meanwhile, Col. Xerxes Trinidad, AFP public affairs office chief, said the agreement reflects the military’s non-partisan approach and readiness to execute election-related responsibilities with professionalism and neutrality.
“Together, they outlined the government’s comprehensive security measures to safeguard the electoral process and ensure the integrity of the elections,” he said.
As part of the collaboration, Comelec turned over budget allocations to both the AFP and PNP to support their election-related security operations.
Garcia said all disbursed funds will be subject to strict liquidation and audit processes.
“We will not release any funds without proper liquidation. The PNP, in particular, deserves commendation for their exemplary and efficient liquidation processes, often completing them within days,” he said in a statement.
Marbil, for his part, emphasized that the financial support will enhance the police force’s logistical capabilities, including personnel deployment, communication systems and operational readiness
“We are committed to ensuring a violence-free election. Our efforts go beyond merely preventing violence – we will make certain that every Filipino can vote freely and safely,” he said in a statement.
Ballot distribution
As part of ongoing preparations for the May 12 midterm elections, the Comelec has announced that ballot distribution will begin on April 21.
“The ballots are being kept at the Comelec warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. It will be shipped out starting April 21,” Garcia said in a recent interview.
Additional ballots for Luzon are stored at the Amoranto Stadium, while those for the National Capital Region are kept at the National Printing Office, the poll chief added.
“We intentionally did not secure the ballots in one place so we won’t have difficulty when deployment time comes,” Garcia explained.
As of March 15, the Comelec completed printing a total of 68,542,564 official ballots, ready for use in the elections.
However, the printing process was temporarily delayed due to Supreme Court-issued temporary restraining orders concerning the disqualification of certain candidates.
Meanwhile, the deployment of automated counting machines (ACMs) for the May elections began on Friday.
The first batch, consisting of 3,700 ACMs, was sent from the Biñan, Laguna warehouse and dispatched to three Mindanao hubs – Iligan City, Kidapawan City and Zamboanga City, Comelec reported.
