Ahead of election day, Comelec destroys defective, mock ballots

Commission on Elections logo superimposed on the picture of its headquarters in Manila. INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Just two days before the national and local polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday started the destruction of defective and roadshow (training, demo, mock) ballots.

According to Comelec Commissioner George Garcia, who led the destruction of the defective and mock ballots at the National Printing Office in Quezon City, a total of 933,311 ballots are scheduled to be destroyed.

To be destroyed are 586,998 defective official ballots, and 346,323 roadshow ballots — which were used in the Comelec’s voters’ education campaign.

Garcia explained that the official ballots to be destroyed had defects such as smudges, wrong color, as well as wrong cut or size, among other defects.

Meanwhile, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said the 933,311 ballots will be destroyed over the course of three days, eight hours daily.

“So that all ballots and election documents and materials are properly accounted for, with the defective ballots and accountable forms disposed of properly, ensuring that these will never be distributed or used in the elections,” said Laudiangco.

“This is Comelec continually being transparent, accountable and also environmentally responsible,” he added.

Earlier, the Comelec said that it had already distributed all vote counting machines (VCMs) to be used in the upcoming elections.

A total of 65.8 million voters nationwide have also been registered for the May 9 polls, according to the poll body.

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