Article by:
Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – Close to 90 percent or more than 58 million ballots for the May 9, national and local (NLE) polls have already been printed at the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported on Thursday.
In a press briefing, Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said a total of 58,838,453 ballots representing 87.2 percent of the total number of ballots to be printed numbering 67,442,616, have already been printed.
Of the 17 regions, the ballots for the National Capital Region (NCR) and Region 4-A except Quezon Province have not been completed.
As of 8 a.m. Thursday, only 671,154 or 9.17 percent have been printed of the 7,322,361 total ballots needed to be printed in NCR while there are 5,816,117 or 74.86 percent already printed out of the total 7,769,073 total ballots for Calabarzon.
Garcia said a total of 105,853 ballots needed to be reprinted after being found defective.
On the other hand, the Comelec official reminded the public that only poll body personnel are authorized to distribute the voter information sheets (VIS).
He said the VIS will be distributed before Election Day. The VIS shall include the voter’s name, address, the precinct and the place where he is registered, and simplified instructions as to the casting of votes.
"Do not be surprised if somebody knocks on your doors and provides you with VIS. We've already printed the VIS for the entire country and are now ready for distribution," Garcia said.
Meanwhile, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said they will be releasing specific markings to determine the authenticity of the VIS being distributed.
"We will come out with information on what are the markings that will determine if what you got is original and authentic VIS," he added.
Republic Act 7904 states that the poll body must provide all registered voters, through registered mail, with a voter information sheet at least 30 days before an election. (PNA)
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