Comelec finalizes list of bets, starts printing of ballots

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is expected to start printing ballots for the May 9, 2022 elections on Tuesday beginning with the ballots to be sent to the 1.7 million registered overseas voters.

The Comelec said it had finalized the list of national candidates on Monday and will send the ballot template to the National Printing Office (NPO) on Tuesday.

Comelec officials are set to conduct a walk-through of the NPO printers at 10 a.m. before the ballot printing starts, according to Elaiza David, education and information director of Comelec.

“The ballot face is already out and will be uploaded to the Comelec website. However, this ballot face is only for overseas voting; they don’t vote for local positions,” she said.

She said the ballot for overseas voters will be 25 inches long.

10 candidates for president

One side of the ballot will have the names of the 10 candidates for president, nine candidates for vice president and 64 candidates for senator; the other side will have the names of the 177 party list groups.

The presidential candidates include front-runners Vice President Leni Robredo and former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Also in the list are Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, labor leader Leody de Guzman, Ernesto Abella, former spokesperson of President Duterte, and former Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalez.

The rest of the candidates are Faisal Mangondato and Jose Montemayor Jr.

The vice presidential candidates include Senate President Tito Sotto, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, Buhay party list Rep. Lito Atienza and Dr. Willie Ong.

The other candidates for vice president are Walden Bello, Rizalito David, Manny Lopez and Carlos Serapio.

According to David, the ballot for local voters will be 26 inches long except in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao where the ballot will reach 30 inches long.