MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is considering scrapping its plan to include candidate photos on the official ballots for the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) on October 13, citing poor compliance from aspirants.

Comelec Chair George Garcia said on Wednesday that despite repeated requests, only about 20 out of nearly 100 candidates submitted their photos.

“We have around 100 candidates that filed their certificates of candidacy last Nov. 4 to 9. But after writing them three times [to send their photos], only around 20 candidates responded,” Garcia said in an interview.

“We cannot have others to have pictures while there are those without [pictures] in the official ballots. Therefore, we may just decide to remove the pictures of candidates altogether,” he added.

Instead, the Comelec plans to feature the logos of political parties on the ballots. Garcia noted that all seven participating political parties had submitted their official emblems.

The Comelec is set to begin printing the more than two million ballots for the historic BPE in August. (Courtesy: PNA)