The move comes after the an order from the Supreme Court.
On Friday, January 17, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) hauled 6 million printed ballots from the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City to its warehouse in Laguna.
According to Chairman George Garcia, these ballots, worth roughly Php 132 million, are being discarded following the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) released by the Supreme Court.
In the said court order, the COMELEC has been directed to restore the names of five candidates, which the commission previously disqualified.
“We will proceed with the automated election. That’s in accordance with the law. Your commission has no intention to disobey the Supreme Court,” Garcia said.
Back to the discarded ballots, these will be recycled into paper materials, but would no longer be used as ballots anew.
Some of the 6 million pieces already printed are the test ballots, sets for absentee voters, and Region XIII (CARAGA), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Meanwhile, the NPO is expected to restart its printing of the official ballots on Monday, January 20, less than three months before its set deadline of April 14, 2025.
73 million ballots will be printed by the agency, which will be used by registered voters around the world to elect officials in the Senate, House of Representatives, provincial, and city council members.
The 2025 midterm polls is due to take place on Monday, May 12.