THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will withhold some P1.4 billion in payments to suppliers, including the state-run National Printing Office (NPO), over defective election paraphernalia, an official said on Wednesday.

Commissioner Rowena Guanzon identified these suppliers as Nextix, Inc., supplier of voters’ registration verification machines (VRVMs), Triplex for the defective marking pens, and the joint venture of S1 Technologies and Silicon Valley Computer Group for the secured digital (SD) cards.