Comelec moves 6 million wasted ballots to Laguna for disposal

On Friday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) began transporting six million wasted ballots—originally printed for the 2025 national and local elections (NLE)—to a warehouse in Laguna's Sta. Rosa City for proper disposal.

According to a report by GMA Integrated News’ Sandra Aguinaldo, a portion of these ballots was loaded onto trucks at the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City. Once in Laguna, the ballots will undergo a paper-melting process.

Comelec Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco explained that the poll body opted for paper melting after the National Archives of the Philippines prohibited the use of micro-shredding for recycling.

Before the transport, the Comelec conducted an inventory and quality check of the ballots using automated counting machines (ACMs) to verify their condition. This step was necessary as part of the Comelec's payment process with the NPO.

The disposal effort follows a Supreme Court temporary restraining order (TRO) issued in connection with a disqualification case. The TRO rendered the printed ballots for the 2025 midterm elections unusable.

On Thursday, Comelec announced the start of the disposal process and confirmed that all official ballots were being inventoried before forwarding them to the NPO for preparation and packaging.

Earlier this week, Comelec suspended ballot printing due to the Supreme Court ruling, which halted the disqualification of senatorial aspirant Subair Guinthum Mustapha, former Caloocan City Representative Edgar Erice, and other individuals.

Comelec Chairperson George Garcia disclosed that each ballot costs P22, putting the total cost of the six million wasted ballots at approximately P132 million. 

Despite a two-week delay caused by the printing suspension, Garcia assured the public that the elections scheduled for May 12, 2025, would proceed as planned. — DVM/VDV, GMA Integrated News