The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) temporarily stopped the printing of ballots for the 2025 midterm elections, as an aspiring Senatorial candidate challenged the former on its decision to declare him a nuisance candidate, leading to the cancellation of his Certificate of Candidacy (COC).
In a Balansyado exclusive on Tuesday, COMELEC Chairman George Garcia clarified the reason why the ballot printing was paused. According to Garcia, the Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary restraining order (TRO), prohibiting the COMELEC from declaring Subair Guinthum Mustapha as a nuisance candidate.
“Dahil po kinakailangan na isama ang pangalan niya sa balota, kinakailangan po yung lahat ng na-imprinta so far ng COMELEC na ilang mga milyon na balota, anim na milyon na po ‘yon, ay kinakailangan na ibalewala lahat upang maisama ang pangalan ng naturang kandidato,” Garcia said.
“At syempre yung apat pa na mga kandidato sa lokal na nakakuha din ng TRO, bagamat hindi pa naman naiimprinta yung kanila pong mga balota sa kani-kanilang mga lugar,” he added.
How Will This Affect the Elections?
Garcia stated that they will be having an emergency meeting, due to the recent incident. He explained that since the country will be utilising automated elections this year, the election management system greatly differs from the previous systems.
“Alam niyo po kasi automated election tayo. Mayroon po tayong tinatawag na election management system. ‘Yan po yung nasa source code natin. Kinakailangan baguhin po namin yung election management system, sapagkat presently yung sistema ay hindi tumatanggap ng karagdagan,” he said.
“Therefore, kinakailangan na ulitin namin yung election management system, dahil uulitin po yung election management system. Uulitin yung database. Pagkanaulit yung database, uulitin yung pag serialize ng bawat pangalan ng bawat kandidato sa buong Pilipinas,” he added.
The mock election also needs to be reset due to the extensive process, as they will need to repeat the entire process to ensure the new management system’s security.
Election Dates Still In May
Despite the current challenges, Garcia assured that the election dates will remain in May, as they will do whatever it takes to comply with the Supreme Court’s directive.
“Hindi naman po. Alam niyo po gagawin lahat ng COMELEC para mag comply sa directive at pinag-uutos ng Korte Suprema. Kataas-taasang hukuman po ‘yan, at gagawin po namin lahat. Kaya naman, pinapamadali natin lahat sa ating mga tauhan kung ano ang dapat na gawin kaagad,” Garcia assured.
However, he said that they have no choice but to pause the ballot printing, as the candidate’s name needs to be included.
Prep for Ballot Printing Affected
Due to the extensive process, Garcia mentioned that almost the entire printing process will be affected. This includes the issuance of test results and the processing of the election management system.
“Practically po, maapektuhan ang lahat ng proseso ng ating paghahanda sa eleksyon,” he said.
However, he assured that they would comply with the Supreme Court’s Order and would do everything to get back on track. Their target date remains the same, stating that they are aiming to finish the ballot printing by April 14.
Garcia said that they will be having a reexamination of their timeline, including the exact dates so that they can complete the process before May 12.
“The COMELEC will comply with the decision of the Supreme Court with the restraining order, and we will do everything. Mga kababayan natin, huwag po kayo mag-alala, kaya po ng COMELEC. Gagawin namin ang lahat ng magagawa namin,” he said.
