A power service interruption forced the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to stop the reprinting of ballots in the National Printing Office (NPO) on Monday, August 21.
In an interview during DZRH's Dos Por Dos on Tuesday, August 22, COMELEC chairman George Garcia said that the brownout hit only some parts of the NPO, and the office has a backup power system.
However, he said the COMELEC decided to halt the reprinting since the power service interruption affected the livestream in the NPO.
Garcia stressed the importance of the livestream to quash doubts regarding the integrity of the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on October.
"Gusto natin ay nasasaksihan ng lahat ng kababayan natin yung ginagawang process sa pag-imprinta ng balota kahit ito ay reprinting," he said.
"Gusto natin absolute ang transparency ng COMELEC kung kaya dapat nasasaksihan ang process natin dito sa commission," he added
The COMELEC chairman assured that the reprinting resumes on Tuesday.
The poll body needs to reprint more than 1 million ballots for various reasons including the conversion of some municipalities into cities, and the transfer of 10 barangays from Taguig City to Makati City.
