Comelec expects 74M voters in 2028, up 6M from 2025

The number of Filipinos expected to vote in the 2028 national and local elections could reach 74 million, about 6 million more than those registered for the 2025 midterm polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Sept. 1.

Comelec Chair George Garcia said the projected increase in voters is among the factors driving the poll body’s appeal for Congress to restore billions of pesos cut from its proposed 2027 budget for election preparations.

“Now our potential voters by 2028 are more or less 74 million,” Garcia told lawmakers during the House Committee on Appropriations’ hearing on the Comelec’s proposed budget.

The commission has so far recorded around 71 million registered voters and expects the number to grow by another 3 million as voter registration continues until Sept. 30, 2027.

The anticipated increase from the more than 68 million voters in the 2025 elections will also require additional election resources, including voting precincts and electoral machines.

Garcia said Comelec would need around 124,000 electoral machines for the 2028 polls.

The poll body is seeking the restoration of its proposed P52.66-billion budget for 2027 after the Department of Budget and Management recommended only P44.7 billion, cutting about P9.12 billion intended for preparations for the 2028 elections.

Garcia warned that failure to restore the funding could result in a shortage of 9,310 election counting machines, potentially forcing more voters into each precinct and causing longer lines and voting times on election day.

“What we are saying is we wanted to prevent…the election of 2028 be compromised simply because of the insufficient budget…,” Garcia said.

The budget cuts could also affect the printing of ballots and election forms, the deployment of machines and supplies, ballot packaging, and other preparations, according to the commission.

Comelec is also planning to move the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2028 elections to Sept. 20 to 27, 2027, earlier than the usual first week of October.

Garcia said the earlier schedule would give the commission more time to resolve cases involving nuisance candidates, disqualifications, and party-list nominees before finalizing the list of candidates.

Comelec aims to begin printing official ballots by December 2027, a month earlier than its January 2025 printing schedule for the midterm elections.

The commission previously had to halt ballot printing for the 2025 polls following Supreme Court orders involving several candidates, eventually destroying around 6 million ballots worth P150 million.

With an estimated 74 million voters expected in 2028, Garcia said the commission is seeking sufficient funding to avoid disruptions that could affect preparations for the country’s next national and local elections.