WITH two electoral exercises scheduled for 2026, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it has decided to begin printing the official ballots for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) more than a year ahead of the November 2026 polls.
In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said Monday, October 13, 2025, that the early printing of BSKE ballots aims to prevent overlap with the printing of ballots for the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE), which must be held no later than March 31, 2026.
“We started early so it won’t coincide with the preparations for the BPE… It’s difficult to prepare for two elections at the same time,” Garcia said.
“For the BPE, we will begin printing in February. If we postpone the printing of the BSKE ballots, the two printings might happen simultaneously,” he added.
On Monday, the Comelec and the National Printing Office (NPO) began printing the official ballots for the BSKE.
More than 90 million ballots for barangay and SK voters are set to be printed.
According to the poll chief, they expect the printing of BSKE ballots to be completed by the middle of December.
He said at least 45 days will be needed to print and verify all BSKE ballots.
“This will take around 45 days, including verification—two months at most,” he said.
“Hopefully, we’ll finish by mid-December, including the verification,” Garcia added. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)