Comelec ready to conduct twin elections

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Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Garcia assured Thursday that the poll body is ready to conduct the twin elections next year.

There are a total of 68,618,667 registered voters expected to vote during the twin elections on 12 May.

Over 18,000 national and local posts will be up for grabs during the midterm elections and the first-ever Bangsamoro parliamentary polls.

"Ang inyo pong Comelec ay handa na mag-conduct ng eleksyon sa 2025 sapagkat ang Bangsamoro election naman po ay kasama doon sa national and local elections. Iisang machine ang gagamitin, iisang set ng teachers (Your Comelec is very prepared to conduct elections in 2025 because the Bangsamoro election is part of the national and local elections)," Garcia said.

For Bangsamoro voters, two ballots will be given to them, according to Garcia.

One ballot for national and local elections, and one ballot for the Bangsamoro polls.

"Handa po ang inyong Comelec, yun po ang dahilan kung bakit sinimulan namin ang pag-receive nitong certificates of candidacy (COCs) nitong 4 November na tatagal hanggang 9 na lamang (We're very ready, that's why we proceeded with receiving COCs on 4 November, which will last until 9 November)," Garcia said.

"Sapagkat, syempre hindi naman po namin pwedeng i-presume na maaring ito ay maaprubahan at maging batas ang panukalang ito kaya kailangang ituloy po namin (Because, of course, we cannot presume that this proposal will be approved and become a law, so we have to continue)," he added.

The Comelec pushed through with the COC filing on Monday despite Senate President Francis Escudero's announcement that he would seek the postponement of the parliamentary elections in the Muslim-dominated region.

Escudero said the Senate would discuss its rescheduling from 2025 to 2028, following the High Court's decision to exclude the province of Sulu.

The senator filed Senate Bill 2862 on Monday to formalize his pronouncement to postpone the said elections.

Garcia said the poll body is targeting to finalize the list of candidates by 13 December.