Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia gave assurances that the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on 30 October 2023 will be "transparent and free," during the turnover ceremony between the COMELEC and the Philippine Coast Guard at the National Headquarters of the Philippine Coast Guard on 5 October. Garcia was joined at the turnover ceremony by Coast Guard Admiral Artemio Abu.

The implementation of checkpoints to maintain peace in different provinces was also pointed out by Garcia, who said there has been no election- related violence in the last two weeks.

"For the last two weeks, we have had no election-related violence because of the presence of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, including the strict implementation of checkpoints [based on the Comelec] the gun ban," he said.

On the other hand, the hearing on the petition to disqualify Smartmatic is set for 17 October.

"We plan to have the hearing set on the 17th or 18th of our petition to disqualify Smartmatic. I would like to find out why we are having a hearing. We would like to know the reasons or grounds for saying that the company itself is disqualified. We would like to hear the side of the company that is being accused. In the meantime, we don't have any basis yet. The hearing to disqualify the company is yet to come. The important thing is that before the actual procurement starts, we should also hear both sides of the story. The Commission on Elections cannot just pass [judgment] this issue." Garcia said.