Comelec says it has enough time for printing, delivery of ballots for barangay, SK elections

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it still has enough time for the printing and delivery of ballots for the 2022 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) despite calls to postpone it.

Comelec spokesperson Atty. John Rex Laudiangco said the poll body rescheduled the printing of the ballots next week.

“By next week po we will start with the printing of the ballots,” Laudiangco said in an interview on GMA News' Balitanghali.

He added that the National Printing Office (NPO) has offered to print the additional security feature on the ballots free of charge.

“Kami po sana ay magtutuloy na po ng printing ng balota para sa BSKE ngunit kailangan po namin ito iurong next week kasi po may bagong development with our negotiations with the National Printing Office (NPO). Ibinilin po nila na free of charge at no cost to the government po additional security feature —'yung ascending serial number — para mas maging secure 'yung ating balota," Laudiangco said.

(We were supposed to have the ballots printed for BSKE already but we had to move it to next week due to a new development with our negotiations with the National Printing Office. They said they will print free of charge at no cost to the government the additional security feature, the ascending serial number, to make the ballot more secure.)

"Ikalawa po, ino-offer [din] ng NPO 'yung warehouse at warehousing services para sa mga balota. Makakabawas po ito nang napakalaki sa gastusin ng Comelec na hindi na kami uupa pa ng ibang warehouse. At ang pinakamaganda po sa usaping ito, gobyerno sa gobyerno or agency to agency procurement ang mangyayari dahil ang NPO ay national government agency rin," he added.

(The NPO also offered its warehouse and warehousing services for ballots. This will reduce Comelec's expenses since we will not have to rent another warehouse. And the nicest thing about it is this will be a government-to-government or agency-to-agency procurement since the NPO is also a national government agency.)

Laudiangco said the NPO has also prepared its three printing machines which can print more than one million ballots a day.

“Kaya 'yung 91.2 million or 92 million na balota na kakailanganin sa BSKE, kaya po itong tapusin sa loob ng 30 days. At isama pa po natin 'yung verification at iba pang mga accountable forms kaya matapos ang pag-iimprenta sa loob lamang ng 45 days at mayroon po kaming sapat na oras para i-deploy ito sa buong bansa,” he said.

(So the 91.2 million or 92 million ballots that will be needed for the BSKE can be completed within 30 days. And let's include the verification and other accountable forms — we can thus finish printing everything in just 45 days and we have enough time to deploy these all over the country.)

The Comelec spokesperson also said the printed ballots will still be used if the BSKE scheduled for December will be postponed.

“Hindi po ito first time nangyari. Ganitong ganito rin po 'yung situation noong 2017. Naimprenta namin po lahat ng balota, nabili na po lahat ng gamit —  indelible ink, ballpens, folders. Biglang lumabas ang batas [na] 2018 na ang halalan. Kinagagalak ko po na sabihin sa inyo na nagamit po lahat at hindi po totoong may nasayang. Lahat po ay ginamit natin,” Laudiangco said.

(This is not the first time this has happened. This was the same situation in 2017. We have printed all the ballots, we have already bought all the materials such as indelible ink, ballpens, folders. Suddenly the law came out and the election was moved to 2018. I am happy to tell you that everything was used and it is not true that some ballots went to waste. We used everything.)

“Kung natatandaan niyo po, ang petsa ng balota na ginamit ninyo noong 2018 ay nakalagay 2017. By virtue of a Comelec resolution, legal po at valid po ito. Wala pong masasayang. Kaya kami po ay confident ituloy ang aming preparations kesa naman po baka hindi matuloy 'yung pino-propose na law hindi handa ang Comelec at hindi ito maaari,” he added.

(If you remember, the date of the ballot you used in 2018, it says 2017. By virtue of a Comelec resolution, it was legal and valid. Nothing was wasted. So we are confidently continuing our preparations, rather than the Comelec being caught unprepared if ever the proposed law may not be approved.)

Meanwhile, Laudiangco said the training of the electoral boards will be conducted in November in order to save funds due to the possibility of the postponement of the elections.

“Kung magte-training po kami ngayon tapos biglang lumabas 'yung postponement, sayang na po 'yun. Kailangan din namin sila i-training next year. Kaya po kami naging judicious po sa paggamit ng aming pondo. Hindi po muna namin sila tinraining,” he added.

(If we train them now and suddenly the postponement comes out, it will affect our budget. We also have to train them next year. That's why we were judicious in using our funds. We will not train them immediately.)

The House of Representatives earlier approved on third and final reading the bill postponing the December 2022 BSKE for one year.

Majority of the House members approved the bill even if Comelec chairperson George Garcia earlier said that postponing the barangay and youth polls by a year would mean additional cost for the government since the poll body needs to reopen registration for new voters.

A similar measure is being discussed at the Senate plenary. The bill, however, proposes to hold the barangay and SK elections on the second Monday of December 2023.

If the Senate will approve the bill, a bicameral conference committee will be convened to reconcile the conflicting provisions of the two proposals. —KG, GMA News