MANILA, Philippines - Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday to look into alleged irregularities in the printing of ballots for the May 13 elections.
He said he would have wanted the committee on suffrage and electoral reforms of the House of Representatives to conduct an inquiry, but there is no more time for investigation since Congress is adjourning next week for the election campaign.
He said the Comelec has a budget of P748 million “for the lease, installation and commissioning of printing machines, including the supply and delivery of ballot paper with security features and other consumables for the printing of the official ballots.â€
He said the Comelec and National Printing Office (NPO) have entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the printing, supply and delivery of machine-readable ballots, among others.
Pursuant to a MOA with the poll body, the NPO invited private printers to bid for the printing of ballots, he added.