Comelec to push through with ballots configuration

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will push through with the scheduled configuration tomorrow of the official ballots for the upcoming May polls even as the Supreme Court (SC) has yet to rule on the fate of disqualified party-list groups.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said they could not wait for SC to decide on the petitions filed by groups that were barred from participating in the elections for failing to meet the requirements under Republic Act 7941 or the Party-list Act of 1995.

“We have a schedule to meet so we will push through with the configuration on Friday,” he said.

With automated polls, the Comelec needs to configure the ballots based on the particular precincts where they will be used on election day.

The procedure involves the precinct number, town or city where the precinct is located, number of registered voters as well as the names of the candidates.

Thirty-nine groups earlier delisted by the Comelec will be included in the ballots after they managed to secure status quo ante orders from the high court.

Brillantes said that in case the high tribunal upholds the disqualification of a group after the ballots have been configured, their names will remain in the ballots but the votes cast for them will not be counted.