THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said it would start printing ballots for village and youth council elections amid a proposal to postpone these, according to its chairman.
“We’ve already submitted the ballot template to the National Printing Office and the office is supposed to start printing on Sept. 19 to Oct. 20,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia told CNN Philippines. “We have to keep our timetable, otherwise we will lack time to prepare for the elections.”
Comelec has spent more than a billion pesos on preparations, he said.
Mr. Garcia earlier said all election equipment and materials bought for the Dec. 5 elections could still be used if lawmakers decide to postpone these.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed on second reading a bill that seeks to postpone village and youth elections to December of next year.
“We hope that by the end of September, there will be a definite answer to this issue,” the Comelec chief said.
The elections for youth leaders and village officials were set for May last year but were postponed amid a coronavirus pandemic. — John Victor D. Ordoñez