MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it would use the ballots printed for the Dec. 5, 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) for the polls reset to Oct. 30 this year.
Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco, in a statement Friday, said the Commission en banc has approved the use of these ballots for six regions and one province.
“In its regular meeting held last Wednesday, February 15, 2023, the Commission on Elections en banc resolved to approve the following action points in relation to the forthcoming electoral exercise, particularly October 30, 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE): To authorize for use in the 2023 BSKE the official ballots which have already been printed using the old layout in relation to the postponed and rescheduled December 5, 2022 BSKE,” Laudiangco said.
“Official Ballots for the foregoing areas were printed first in consideration of the time it will take to verify, pack and ship them to their intended destinations for use on election day," he added.
Laudiangco said these ballots involve 16,027,280 village ballots and 5,958,931 youth ballots bearing the old layout.
These ballots would be deployed to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Caraga, Soccsksargen, Davao Region, Northern Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula and the province of Batanes.
In September 2022, the poll body started printing the official ballots before the Dec. 5, 2022 BSKE.
However, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 11935 on Oct. 10 last year, which moved the polls to Oct. 30, 2023. (PNA)
