00:01A fresh and energetic Wednesday night to all. I'm Gabrielle Lopez and it is always a privilege to serve you. The latest on PTV News Now.
00:10First up, the Commission on Elections has started printing more than 34,000 final testing and sealing ballots for the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on October 13.
00:23Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudianco said 34,650 ballots will be used in 3,461 clustered precincts across Barm's five provinces, the special geographic area, and the cities of Lamitan, Marawi, and Cotabato.
00:42These ballots are the same ones to be processed by the automated counting machines on Election Day.
00:47The FDS serves as a full test of the voting process, from machine initialization to the printing of election returns.
00:55Comelec chairperson George Garcia said that they hope to achieve at least a 75 percent voter turnout among Barm's 2.2 million registered voters.
01:06He called it a historic milestone if the target is reached.
01:09Meanwhile, the pool body launched its Botong Bangsamoro voter education campaign to inform more residents about the elections.
01:18Garcia said the goal is to reduce the number of uninformed voters from 50 percent to 20 to 25 percent, stressing that no one should be left behind in the democratic process.
01:29The country's financial stature on the world stage has taken a step forward with its exit from the European Union's list of high-risk nations reputed for money laundering and terrorism funding,
01:42a clear signal of growing global trust in the country's financial system.
01:47The move to expunge the Philippines from such an inviolable distinction began on June 10 when the European Commission issued a directive delisting the Philippines and seven other nations from its high-risk role with the order taking effect on August 5.
02:03Clearly, the Marcus Jr. administration's thrust toward putting safeguards on stricter control measures in the country's banking system has delivered results
02:12and set up the country for much better prospects for investments from abroad.
02:17The European Commission's financial action task force added the country to its gray list in June 2021 during the Duterte presidency
02:25when his government struggled to keep the country's finances in order and good international standing.
02:31Likewise, Malacanang gladly announced earlier today how the country is inching near the coveted upper-middle income bracket,
02:38underscoring the steady economic gains that have obtained over the last three years of the Marcus Jr. presidency.
02:47And at this moment, let's lend our eyes and ears to my colleague in PTV's Baguio City Studios for what's brewing and late in the Cordilleras.
02:55Thank you very much.
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