“Back to zero po kami.”
This was how Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman George Erwin Garcia described the situation which the poll body is now in, after the Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the the disqualification of former Caloocan City representative Edgar Erice and four others.
It was learned that about six million ballots already printed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the May 12, 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE) will now be wasted owing to the said TRO, which prompted the Comelec to halt the ballot printing since the names of the concerned candidates are not included in the printed ballots.
“Yung naimprenta po namin na higit kumulang na anim na milyong balota ay mababalewala na po lahat sapagkat wala po ‘yung pangalan ng naturang kandidato… And therefore, back to zero po kami,” Garcia said.
The poll body chief said that each ballot costs about P22 so that in its entirety, around P132 million worth of the printed ballots will not go to waste.
“Medyo malaki na po. Kung anim na milyon ‘yan, i-multiply ninyo po sa P22 isang balota. Pagkatapos, napakadami po namin doon na mga tauhan na pinapasuweldo with overtime lahat po ‘yun kasi nga po may night shift po kami,” he added.
