Ballot printing to proceed as scheduled — Comelec

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday assured that the ballot printing for the twin elections in May 2025 will proceed as scheduled despite some concerns from a labor group.

"Ballot printing shall proceed as scheduled. We would like to assure this group that their concerns are well-taken and the Commission appreciates them," Comelec Chairperson George Garcia told the DAILY TRIBUNE in a Viber message.

"However, we are working on a very tight schedule and delay is never an option," Garcia added.

This after the National Confederation of Labor (NCL) filed on Thursday, 12 December, before the Comelec to suspend the printing of ballots for next year's polls.

According to senatorial aspirant Ernesto Arellano, spokesperson of NCL, the suspension would allow the poll body to investigate and assess the qualifications of all who filed their candidacy papers.

Arellano said this would also give the Comelec the chance to "clean up the list of candidates by removing fake and unqualified candidates," preventing a situation similar to that of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo.

In October, Comelec accused Guo of violating Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code when he filed her certificate of candidacy for mayor in the 2025 elections despite her Chinese citizenship.

Arellano said he is proposing to the poll body to require all candidates to submit their true copies of their birth certificates and certificates of no criminal record from the National Bureau of Investigation.

The Comelec will start printing the 73 million ballots required for the May National and Local Elections on 6 January.