Ballot printing not affected amid BARMM poll deferment

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) clarified Thursday that the possible postponement of the first-ever Bangsamoro parliamentary polls will not affect ballot printing for the national and local elections.

This comes as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified as urgent Wednesday a bill seeking to postpone the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary polls to October.

With the move, the Comelec delayed the printing of 2.3 million ballots allotted for BARMM elections.

However, Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia stressed that the printing of ballots for the national and local elections in the Bangsamoro region will continue.

“That means for our countrymen in the Bangsamoro, you will still have an election on 12 May, from senator to city council or provincial council,” said Garcia. “The only thing that you won’t have is the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.”

Meanwhile, Garcia added that if the postponement of the BARMM polls pushes through, teachers who will man the elections will receive a separate honorarium in October.

“Practically, it’s as if we’re going to conduct a special election in the entire region,” said Garcia, as he stressed that the Comelec will need at least P2.5 billion if the BARMM polls are rescheduled to a later date.

The Comelec, he added, will then resume the printing of ballots for the BARMM poll in July or August.