00:00The printing of balotas will be delayed for another 2 to 3 days
00:05after a candidate who was given a temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court was withdrawn.
00:13Louisa Erispe is in the center of the news.
00:18On the third occasion, the printing of balotas for the 2025 National and Local Elections was resumed.
00:27On this occasion, not because the Supreme Court has a new temporary restraining order
00:32and the name of the candidate is being added,
00:35but because the candidate will be removed after Francis Leo Marcos was withdrawn,
00:42who is still one of the candidates given by the TRO of the SC.
00:46According to Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia,
00:48because of this, the printing of balotas will be delayed for another 2 to 3 days.
00:54We did not receive any notice that someone wants to withdraw or refuses to run.
01:00So far, maybe yesterday was the last, at least a national candidate.
01:05We will resume the printing of the ballots by Monday at all costs.
01:09We have been delayed for more than 3 weeks.
01:13But because Comelec has been delaying the printing for several weeks,
01:17some are questioning why Comelec did not include the disqualified and nuisance candidates in the balotas.
01:24Comelec's answer is that the law will be followed here.
01:28If we will allow everyone who appeals should have the same name,
01:33we are not talking about practicality here.
01:35We are talking about the rule of law.
01:38If we will not remove them, why did we make a decision?
01:41Our decision is already clear.
01:43Aside from the question of why they did not include the nuisance and disqualified candidates,
01:48some are also wondering if there is something wrong with the numbering of the candidates
01:53when the balotas were first printed.
01:55Like the number of the re-election of Senator Bong Revilla,
01:59who entered the number 11,
02:01and his screen name became Bong instead of Revilla.
02:05Comelec just said that this is a long-standing decision of the court,
02:09and this is not a new thing because just like when he ran in 2019,
02:14he already used the name Bong in the balotas.
02:17In 2009, his name was changed.
02:21In our Civil Code of the Philippines,
02:23a person's name can really be changed, especially if there are reasons.
02:27The reasons are enumerated there,
02:29and the court made a lot of decisions as to why the name can be changed.
02:35Comelec did not deny that there is nothing wrong with the printing of the first balotas.
02:40They just disagree with the decision of the Supreme Court.
02:43Even though Comelec was delayed in printing,
02:46the mock elections will continue tomorrow,
02:48which will be held all over the country.
02:50What he will use here are not real balotas.
02:54Luisa Erispe for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
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