Philippine poll body set to complete ballot printing in 2 months for May elections

The Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to complete the printing of over 56 million official ballots for the upcoming May elections by April 25, a poll official said Tuesday.

The printing of the ballots for the synchronized national and local elections officially started Monday, said Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista.

Six presidential candidates, including Senator Grace Poe, have been included in the ballots to be shaded by voters during the May 9 elections.

The National Printing Office which the Comelec tapped to print the ballots has been working 24 hours a day in order to meet the deadline, Bautista said.

The Comelec is expecting around 100,000 to 200,000 ballots to be printed daily in the first few days of printing. They expect up to 1.1 million ballots to be printed daily when printing machines hit their peak in the coming weeks.

The 90-day campaign period for the national candidates in the Philippine May elections officially started on Feb. 9.

Over 50 million Filipino voters are expected to troop to different precincts nationwide for the elections on May 9.

About 18,000 positions from president down to city and municipal councilors have to be filled up in the upcoming polls.