Comelec to use Amoranto Stadium as ballot verification site

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will use the Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City as an additional site for the manual verification of the 72 million printed official ballots for Eleksyon 2025.

“Ipapahiram samin ang Amoranto Stadium ng local government unit ng Quezon City for free. Mukhang kinakailangan namin i-transport ang mga printed na balota…dun sa Amoranto para dun ilagay ang ibang machines, ibang tauhan na idadagdag namin para mas mapabilis ang verification,” said Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay. 

(The Quezon City government will lend us the Amoranto Stadium for free. We will transport our printed ballots and deploy the additional personnel there.)

“We will be deploying several security personnel…we will also allow media to visit and inspect. The observers can visit, including citizens’ arm groups. Naka-livestream din yun,” he added.

(We will also deploy security personnel and allow the media and observers to visit the site.)

Meanwhile, Garcia said that more than 13 million ballots have been printed so far for the upcoming May midterm elections as of February 5, 2025.

He added that the poll body remains on track for its April 14 deadline, but Garcia said they would need more personnel for the ongoing ballot verification.

“Mabilis ang printing natin, talagang nababagalan kami ay ‘yung aming verification..Halimbawa, mayroong kaming 8 million sa isang araw na mga balota  pero ang aming verification, is only about 2 million to 3 million,mababa po yun. Masyadong nauuna ang printing at nahuhuli ang verification,” he said.

(We are on track of the printing but the verification process is slow. For example, we printed 8 million balots, the verified ballots will only be 2 million to 3 million. That’s slow.)

The poll body resumed printing the official ballots on January 27, weeks after it was suspended after the Supreme Court (SC) issued temporary restraining orders against the disqualification of some aspirants.

Last month, the poll agency deputized  National Printing Office (NPO), allowing the use of the four printing machines of the NPO and the two machines procured by South Korean firm Miru Systems Inc., to ensure the “proper, satisfactory, and timely” completion of the reprinting of the official ballots for the May polls.

--VAL, GMA Integrated News

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