MANILA - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said it has printed over 50 percent of the more than 90 million officials' ballots for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), with over eight months before the polls. Based on the poll body's data, a total of 45,373,628 ballots have been printed by the National Printing Office (NPO) out of a total of 90,613,426 ballots. Of the number, a total of 32,975,599 ballots have been printed of the 66,973,949 ballots required for the village polls. Meanwhile, the Commission said a total of 12,398,029 out of the 23,639,477 ballots for the SK polls have already been printed. It added that the ballots that have already been printed are for the following regions Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Caraga, Soccsksargen, Davao Region, Northern Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Western Visayas and Batanes province in Cagayan Valley. The areas that have yet to be printe
(PNA file photo) MANILA - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has surpassed its target of new registrants after recording more than 1.6 million possible new voters for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) this October. "If we add all reactivation, inclusion, and reinstatement applications, as well as the Register Anywhere Project (RAP) new applicants and reactivations, the total number of additional voters is at 1,631,433, subject of course to the approval of the respective Election Registration Boards," Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said in a message to reporters Thursday. Laudiangco said this surpasses the poll body's target of at least 1.5 million additional voters for the Dec. 12, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2023 registration period. Based on the final figures of the Comelec, a total of 2,504,502 applications were filed before regular voter registration sites in all cities and municipalities in the country. On the other hand, an additional 8,979 ap
Quezon City capitol(PNA file photo) MANILA - More than 13,000 contractual and job order employees of the Quezon City government will be included in the health insurance coverage program. The program will cover all full-time Contract of Service and Job Order employees, including consultants under the executive and legislative branches, who have rendered at least six months of uninterrupted service before February 1. The QC Human Resource Management Department will grant an aggregate annual benefit limit of PHP100,000 per member. Benefits include annual physical examinations, emergency care services, hospitalization or in-patient care and out-patient services, insurance for pre-existing and critical illnesses, and life insurance. The current program is valid from Feb. 1, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2023. In a statement on Monday, Mayor Joy Belmonte said "the city government recognizes that the health and safety of our entire workforce is of paramount importance to us. It is the right of our em