THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) had already printed 47.48% of ballots for the midterm elections on May 12, it reported on Tuesday.
In a Viber chat with reporters, Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia said 34.2 million ballots had already been printed as of Feb. 18.
This is a product of two National Printing Office printers, which produced a total of 1.67 million ballots on Feb. 17 alone.
Over 37 million is still yet to be printed, he noted.
The poll body aims to finish all ballot printing by mid-March, its chief earlier said.
The campaign period for senatorial and party-list candidates started on Feb. 11, while local bets will start their campaign on March 28.
Up for grabs in the May 12 elections are 317 congressional seats and thousands of local posts. The biggest battle will be for 12 spots in the 24-seat Senate, a chamber packed with political heavyweights and wielding outsized influence. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana