‘BACK TO ZERO.’ Commission on Elections chairman George Garcia says the poll body will shred at least 6 million ballots that were already printed following a Supreme Court restraining order on the disqualification of five candidates.

Garcia says poll body ‘back to zero’ amid SC ruling on DQ of 5 bets

The Commission on Elections will shred 6 million ballots for the midterm polls worth over P130 million before printing new ones to include the names of five candidates it previously disqualified.

This as the Supreme Court earlier issued temporary restraining orders on the disqualification of the five candidates.

Comelec chairperson George Garcia said the ballots would be shredded to ensure they cannot be used in the upcoming polls.

The ballots were printed at P22 each, which means the poll body stands to lose around P132-million, he said.

“The 6 million ballots we printed will all be useless because the name of the concerned candidate is not there. And therefore, we are back to zero,” Garcia said, referring to Subair Guinthum Mustapha whose candidacy for senator was reinstated by the SC decision.

Garcia said the printed ballots were intended for the national elections.

He said official ballot printing for the local elections has not started yet, which means the Comelec may still revise the list of candidates involving other aspiring politicians covered by the SC ruling.

“Because the ballot face will be modified, the name of the candidate included in the Supreme Court’s restraining order must also be included,” he added.

The printed ballots to be destroyed include those for local absentee voting, overseas voting, test ballots and the Bangsamoro elections.

“Also, the ballots for the local polls in the CARAGA region have also been printed, but their printing has been halted,” Garcia said.

The SC issued the TRO prohibiting the Comelec from disqualifying five aspirants, including Mustapha who is aiming for a national position and four others who are aiming for local positions.

The list included former Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice and ex-basketball player Florendo Ritualo Jr.

The poll body hopes to resume the printing of ballots on January 20.

According to Garcia, the alphabetical candidate numbers of at least 12 senatorial candidates on the ballots will be affected if Mustapha is added to the list.

The 6 million printed ballots will undergo inventory and will be reported to the Commission on Audit, he said.

This is the first time in history that the poll body has stopped ballot printing due to a high court order, Garcia said.

Photos from Norman Cruz and Manny Palmero

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Comelec to destroy 6M official ballots in compliance with SC ruling.”