The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has started printing the 73 million ballots required for the 2025 national and local elections (NLE). The printing process, conducted at the National Printing Office in Quezon City, is expected to conclude on April 14, 2025.
Breakdown of Ballots
- National Elections: Over 68 million ballots
- Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections: More than 2 million ballots
- Final Testing and Sealing (FTS): 1 million test ballots
- Overseas Voting and Local Absentee Voting (LAV): Remaining ballots
Priority Printing
Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia stated that the initial batch includes ballots for overseas voting, LAV, and FTS.
“Ang kauna-unahan ay overseas voting, local absentee voting, at mga test ballots. Ang sunod niyan ngayong araw na to ay sa Bangsamoro,” said Garcia.
(The initial batch includes overseas voting, local absentee voting, and test ballots. These will be followed by ballots for the Bangsamoro polls.)
Garcia added that the final printing phase will focus on ballots for the National Capital Region (NCR) as it is geographically closest.
Daily Output and Printing Timeline
Comelec aims to print 1 million ballots per day, with the process taking 77 days.
Ballot Template and Disqualifications
Over the weekend, Comelec unveiled the official ballot template for the midterm elections. Aspirants with cases ruled as final and executory by the Comelec en banc, such as former Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice, have been excluded from the ballots. However, candidates with pending cases remain on the list.
The 2025 elections are set to mark another significant milestone in Philippine democracy, with Comelec ensuring the timely preparation of all necessary materials.