Comelec Achieves Printing Target, Aims to Finish 73 Million Ballots by April 14 This title accurately reflects the main topic of the blog post, which is the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) success in printing over 1.8 million ballots daily and its goal of completing the printing of all 73 million ballots by April 14 for the May 12 national and local polls.

Comelec Achieves Printing Target, Aims to Finish 73 Million Ballots by April 14

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has successfully printed over 1.8 million ballots daily, exceeding its initial target of 1.5 million per day despite a three-week delay caused by a Supreme Court directive. With six high-speed printing machines at work, Chairman George Erwin Garcia is confident that the Comelec will meet its deadline of April 14.

Printing Powerhouse

The commission's printing schedule was initially delayed, but it has since ramped up its capacity with four National Printing Office (NPO)-owned machines and two machines provided by Miru Systems of South Korea. This increased capacity has enabled the Comelec to catch up on lost time and ensure that all necessary ballots are printed in preparation for the May 12 national and local polls.

Verification Challenges

While the printing process has exceeded expectations, the verification process presents a different challenge. Garcia acknowledged that manual verification is a labor-intensive process, requiring 800 verifiers to review each printed ballot to ensure quality and compliance with specifications. To boost efficiency, the Comelec plans to hire an additional 250-300 verifiers.

Machine Verification

In addition to manual verification, the ballots will undergo machine verification for further checking. This multi-layered approach ensures that every ballot is thoroughly examined before being released for use in the election.

Verification and Printing Challenges

The Comelec also faces challenges in verifying the 73 million ballots needed for the election. To accommodate this demand, the commission plans to rent a large facility, such as the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) or Amoranto Stadium, to house the manual verification process and 500 automated counting machines.

Progress Update

As of February 3, the NPO has completed printing ballots for several priority regions, including those in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Regions 4 (Calabarzon and Mimaropa) and 5 (Bicol). Printed ballots for the national and local elections are ready, while parliamentary polls in BARMM have been put on hold due to a potential postponement.

Conclusion

With both printing and verification processes underway, the Comelec is on track to meet its deadline. By April 14, all necessary ballots will be prepared for use in the upcoming election, ensuring a smooth and efficient voting process.

Edward Lance Arellano Lorilla

CEO / Co-Founder

Enjoy the little things in life. For one day, you may look back and realize they were the big things. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.