Comelec halts ballot printing for Batanes, Naga votes

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has suspended the printing of ballots to be used for the special election in Batanes province and the Naga City plebiscite.

“The Printing of official ballots for both electoral exercises will remain on hold until further notice,” the Comelec announced.

“The Commission will provide updates on the revised printing schedule as soon as information becomes available,” it added.

The printing of ballots was supposed to start on October 14 at the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City.

The Comelec explained that its Allocation Committee advised suspending the printing of ballots for the Naga plebiscite due to the need to revise the number of ballots to be printed.

Meanwhile, the commission disclosed that the NPO has yet to submit a quotation for the cost of printing the ballots for Batanes. Because of this, the start of printing was put on hold.

The Naga plebiscite is scheduled for November 21 to ratify the proclamation declaring Naga a highly urbanized city (HUC).

On May 26, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Proclamation No. 1267, declaring Naga City an HUC after it met the minimum requirements prescribed by Republic Act (RA) No. 7610, also known as the Local Government Code of 1991.

Under RA 7610, the proclamation will take effect only upon ratification in a plebiscite by qualified voters.

The special election in Batanes, which is for the province's congressional seat, is scheduled for November 1.

The Comelec scheduled the special election following the death of Batanes Rep. Ciriaco Gato Jr. on September 21.