Comelec Chair George Garcia shows a sample of the electronic ballot during the Local Source Code Review of the Automated Election Systems (AES) at the Circuit Corporation One building in Makati City on October 11, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it was “in control of the situation” after the progress of its ballot printing for the May elections went “back to zero” due to a Supreme Court order.

The SC on Tuesday prohibited the Comelec’s disqualification of five candidates, including one Senate bet.

This meant that the Comelec has to discard some 6 million ballots printed in the last two weeks, which did not contain the Senate bet’s name, said poll body chairman George Garcia.

“Halos dalawang linggo na po tayo nag-iimprenta ng balota. More or less yung dalawang linggo pong iyun ay nabalewala lahat yun… More or less back to zero muli tayo na mag-iimprenta,” he told TeleRadyo Serbisyo. 

Under the law, the ballots that would not be used cannot be recycled and should be shredded, Garcia noted.

“‘Pag hindi natin ginawa yun, paano kung may biglang akusasyon na ginagamit o magagamit yung mga balotang iyan?” he said. 

Garcia could not yet say when the ballot printing would resume.

“Hindi po ganoon kadali yung gagawin namin. Babaguhin namin yung election management system, yung database, yung serialization ng mga pangalan, at lahat ng ballot faces sa buong banta ay papalitan namin,” he said. 

But he assured the public that the Comelec “will do everything” to ensure that the elections would push through on May 12, as mandated by law.

“Lahat po ay gagawin namin para hindi maunsyami ang ating halalan. We are in control of the situation,” he said.

The temporary restraining orders issued by the Supreme Court prohibited the disqualification of candidates Subair Guinthum Mustapha, Charles Savellano, Chito Bulatao Balintay, Edgar Erice and Florendo de Ramos Ritualo, Jr.

Mustapha and Savellano were previously declared as nuisance candidates for senator and representative of Ilocos Sur’s First District.

The TROs for Balintay and Ritualo were against the decision of the poll body to reject their certificates of candidacy for Zambales Governor and Sangguniang Panlungsod Member for San Juan City’s First District.

Meanwhile, Erice was disqualified by the Comelec from running for Representative of Caloocan City’s Second District.