The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is aiming to complete the canvassing of votes by May 15 — a feat that, if achieved, would mark the fastest in its 85-year history.
The Comelec en banc, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), began tallying 175 certificates of canvass (COCs) on Tuesday, May 13, covering local absentee votes, highly urbanized cities, districts, provinces, and overseas voting.
Comelec Chair George Garcia said 58 COCs were canvassed on the first day alone — a record number compared to past elections.
“In previous polls, canvassing would stretch beyond two weeks,” Garcia told reporters. “Yesterday, we hit 58 COCs. In the past, we wouldn’t even have any on Day 1 because no COCs had arrived yet.”
The poll body is targeting 100 more COCs on the second day and the remainder by Thursday. If this pace is maintained, the proclamation of winning candidates may take place over the weekend.
Garcia noted that during the era of manual voting, proclamations could take up to a month. Automation brought that down to around two weeks, and this year may beat that record.
