COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia suggested moving the filing of candidacies for the 2028 elections to July 2027 to address delays caused by pending cases, such as those being heard in the Supreme Court (SC).
The suggestion comes after the SC issued Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs) for candidates who appealed their disqualification by COMELEC, which has impacted ballot printing for this year's upcoming elections.
Garcia emphasized that the adjusted schedule would give COMELEC sufficient time to resolve such cases before printing ballots.
"Ito po ang suhestiyon na maaaring mapag-isipan ng lahat. Siguro po maganda gawin na lang natin ang filing of candidacies para sa susunod na eleksyon ng 2028 sa July ng 2027, sa halip na October," said Garcia during an interview on DZRH's Dos Por Dos.
"Sa ganitong paraan, magkakaroon kami ng sapat na panahon upang maresolba ang mga kaso at makarating sa Korte Suprema," Garcia explained.
Today, January 22, COMELEC postponed the reprinting of ballots due to the recent TROs issued by the Supreme Court. Garcia stated that they would once again update their database and serialize the ballots.
Meanwhile, Garcia thanked the Supreme Court for releasing the TROs before the reprinting process could proceed.
"Ang importante, magsisimula po tayo sa Sabado at hanggang kaya po namin na tumalima sa ating Korte Suprema ay atin pong gagawin 'yan dahil iyan ay nasa Saligang Batas na ang Supreme Court ang last resort," the Comelec Chairman noted.
As of now, 13 petitions for TROs related to the 2025 elections remain unresolved by the SC.
According to Supreme Court Spokesperson Atty. Camille, from October 9, 2024, to the present, 25 petitions have been filed by disqualified and declared nuisance candidates for the May elections.
These candidates have sought TROs to challenge COMELEC’s decisions.
