The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on Thursday that it will livestream the printing of ballots for next year’s midterm elections.

Comelec, the National Printing Office (NPO), and Miru Systems signed a tripartite agreement on Thursday for the provision of printing services for the official ballots for the 2025 midterm elections.

“We can guarantee to you that the printing of the ballots from Day 1 up to the last day will be livestreamed by the Comelec,” Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said in an ambush interview.

“That is to ensure that everything is accountable, everything is transparent. Yun po ang commitment ng (That’s the commitment of the) Commission on Elections,” he added.

Garcia also assured that the poll body will be there to supervise and to take full control of the printing of the ballots.

The NPO, meanwhile, will facilitate the printing of 73 million ballots.

He added that ballots have secret markings, including a QR code, and are “precinct-specific.”

“Ibig-sabihin, yung balota sa isang presinto ay hindi maaaring gamitin sa kabilang presinto at hindi pwedeng gamitin sa kabilang makina (It means that a ballot in a specific precinct, cannot be used in another precinct and in a different machine),” Garcia explained.

“At the same time, may makikita kayo diyan na watermarks, hindi lamang seal ng Comelec, kundi may isa pang watermark silang makikita (At the same time, you can also seek watermarks, not just the Comelec seal, but an additional watermark),” he added.

The poll body chief also noted that there is a specific “Comelec Chairman” watermark that only he and NPO Director Renato Acosta know about.

Garcia said the poll body is targeting to start the printing of ballots by the second week of December.