Comelec to destroy 933,300 defective ballots

MANILA --- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Saturday that it will destroy a total of 933,311 official ballots which have been identified as defective and used in “roadshows.”

The event, which began Saturday at the National Printing Office in Quezon City, will go on for three days.

The Comelec will also be destroying defective accountable forms during this period.

Of the total number of official ballots to be shredded, majority or 586,988 are defective ballots while 346,323 are roadshow ballots or those used for voters’ education purposes, Comelec spokesperson John

Rex Laudiangco told reporters on Saturday.

“[Operations will run] eight hours a day. Continuous po ito and again, ‘dun po sa gustong magwitness, we invite you. Just please signify your intention,” he said.

(Operations will run eight hours a day. This is continuous, and to those who would like to witness the event, we invite you. Just please signify your intention.”)

Meanwhile, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia explained that the poll body’s quality control team noticed that some ballots had smudges and discolorations, among others, which is what led the Comelec to shred the defective documents in public.

The event, which was also livestreamed on the poll body’s Facebook page, showed a Comelec worker placing the papers under a shredding machine.

The event on Saturday was witnessed by members of the media and other observers.

Last month, the Comelec has completed the printing of 67,442,616 official ballots which will be used for the May elections, according to a news report from Philippine News Agency.

Comelec investigates 10 vote buying claims

On Saturday, the office of Comelec Commissioner Aimee Ferolino said the poll body’s task force dedicated to investigating vote-buying incidents is currently looking into 10 cases.

“We have ten active cases and counting as we are continually receiving numerous reports and complaints of vote buying in our official email address and Facebook page,” Ferolino’s office said in a statement shared over Viber.

It added it is looking into another possible vote-buying case.

READ: Comelec to rely on tech, socmed vs vote-buying

In a related development, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it has ordered the national police force to establish anti-vote buying teams in each province and city.

In a statement, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the anti-vote buying teams will receive and process complaints, investigate, gather evidence, interview witnesses; and protect witnesses or complainants.

“We will act on evidencebased complaints and verify them with the PNP Anti-Vote

Buying Teams...These will be forwarded to the Comelec which has a motu proprio power, or on its own accord, file cases of violation of election laws,” Año said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Vote-buying happens when a person gives, offers or promises money or anything of value to induce someone to vote for or against any candidate, according to the Comelec’s Omnibus Election Code (OEC) of 1985.

Meanwhile, vote-selling refers to the act of soliciting or receiving anything in exchange for their vote.