Quezon city: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will start on Monday the printing of more than 90 million ballots for the Nov. 2, 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE). The printing will commence at 1 p.m. at the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City, covering both official ballots and accountable forms to be used in the synchronized village and youth elections.
According to Philippines News Agency, this marks the first time in the history of the Comelec and the NPO that such a large number of ballots-over 90 million-will be printed. Comelec Chair George Garcia highlighted the unprecedented scale of the task, noting the division of 69 million ballots for barangay elections and 23 million for the SK elections.
Garcia explained that the decision to begin printing more than a year before election day is strategic, aimed at ensuring adequate preparation and allowing time to address any technical or logistical issues that may arise. “We want to make sure that if there will be any problems, at least our printing, including verification, will be completed as soon as possible,” he said.
With voter registration resuming on October 20 and running until May 18, 2026, Garcia mentioned that the total number of ballots could potentially reach 95 million. This development follows the signing of Republic Act No. 12232 by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in August, which rescheduled the December 1, 2025 BSKE to the first Monday of November 2026.
The rescheduling aims to allow Comelec to focus on the first-ever Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections. However, the BARMM polls, initially set for October 13, have been moved to March 31, 2026, following the Supreme Court’s declaration that Bangsamoro Autonomy Act Nos. 58 and 77, which created and reconstituted parliamentary districts in the region, were unconstitutional.