THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it will conduct random testing of election ballots this Thursday, March 24, 2022.
During the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms hearing, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said that watchers, observers, and representatives of political parties will be surely invited to the activity.
It can be recalled that the poll body’s attention was called for not inviting observers on the printing of the ballots for the national and local elections.
Among those who complained were noted election lawyer Atty. Romulo Macalintal.
Garcia explained that the National Capital Region (NCR) was under Alert Level 3 during the printing.
He said they did not invite watchers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the National Printing Office (NPO) where the ballots are printed. If ever one contracts the disease, the NPO will be forced to close that will have an impact on the printing timeline of the ballots.
The Comelec official apologized to the House committee on behalf of the poll body because of the incident. He likewise reiterated that transparency was observed in the printing of the ballots.
When asked when the ballot printing will be finished, Garcia said the Comelec’s target of 100-percent completion is on the second week of April.