Manila, Philippines — The Commission on Elections has ordered the discontinuation of ballot printing ahead the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE) and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Parliamentary Elections (BPE) scheduled on May.
In a press statement released on January 14, COMELEC spokesperson Atty. John Rex Laudiangco said that this announcement is in compliance and adhereance to the Temporary Restraining Orders (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court on the same day.
The said TROs bars the poll body from disqualifying five individuals—namely former Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, Chito Balintay, Subair Guinthum Mustapha, Charles Savellano, and Florendo Ritualo—of their candidacies in the 2025 midterm polls.
“The TROs prohibit COMELEC from disqualifying them. So this means their names have to be included in the ballot. So it’s up to COMELEC [on] how they would implement this. But they will just have to follow the order of the SC,” SC spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting said in a press conference.
Following this, COMELEC has expressed full commitment over the said order, assuring the High Court of immediate contingency measures from their side.
These measures includes and are not limited to the following:
- Immediate cessation of printing of Official Ballots;
- Change/Amendment to the Candidates’ Database, the Election Management System (EMS), the Automated Counting Machine (ACM), and the Consolidation and Canvassing System (CCS);
- Generation of 1,667 Ballot Face Templates;
- Inventory of all the printed Ballots;
- Conduct a study as to whether or not the change in the EMS and Candidates’ Database;
- Reprinting of all the affected Ballots;
- Cancellation and Rescheduling of the Trusted Build; and
- Cancellation and Rescheuling of the Mock Elections scheduled on January 18, 2025.
Although COMELEC is aware that these measures are time consuming and expensive, the poll body recognizes the legality of the SC’s order, assuring the public that they are in full control of the situation at hand.
Amidst these adjustments, COMELEC announced that the inventory of the printed ballots, its transport for safekeeping to the poll’s warehouse in Santa Rosa, and its destruction to avoid any unauthorized use were conducted on January 15, 2025.