Manila, April 23 -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has started the nationwide deployment of official ballots and other election paraphernalia to be used in the May 12 midterm elections.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Comelec said initial deliverables have been shipped to six areas in Mindanao namely Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur and Special Geographic Area.

"In accordance with set timelines, the Commission on Elections commenced at exactly 12 a.m. of April 22, 2025, the deployment of the Official Ballots (OBs, ACM-readable) from its Santa Rosa City Warehouse (Laguna)," the poll body said.

The initial batch that was deployed consisted of 3,576 boxes containing 2,378,828 official b...