(PNA photo by Robinson Ninal Jr.)
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the extension of the ongoing voter registration activities beyond the Jan. 31 deadline is unlikely.
In a statement Tuesday night, Comelec chairperson George Garcia said the matter has not been tackled in any of the deliberations by the poll body en banc.
He, however, renewed his call for qualified voters to register to be able to participate in the October 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
"Don't rely on rumors that the Comelec will extend it. What if we don't extend the registration. You will decide if you want to support or not the current officials in your barangay but how can you do that if you are not a registered voter,” he added.
This came as voter registration activities resumed on Tuesday after the holiday break.
Since the start of the registration period on Dec. 12 until Dec. 30, new SK voter applicants (aged 15 to 17) reached 60,491.
New registrants for the age bracket of 18 to 30 years old, topped at 101,944. Regular registration applicants (21 years old and above) numbered 25,694.
The Comelec is targeting around 1.5 to 2 million new voters by the end of the registration period.
To encourage more applicants to register, it launched programs such as satellite registration, Register Anywhere Project (RAP) in participating malls in Metro Manila and several areas in Bicol and Visayas, and the quad-media presence (social media, television, radio and print).
Aside from the SM and Robinsons malls, the Commission is also set to commence at the Senate of the Philippines and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). It is also looking to tap at least two universities in the said endeavor.
Meanwhile, the poll body is now preparing for the special polls in Cavite next month.
According to Executive Director Teopisto Elnas, Jr., the special polls in the seventh district of the province will be automated.
“We will be utilizing the list of voters as of August 2022 registration. Special elections in three municipalities: Amadeo, Indang and Tanza and one city, Trece Martires. Total barangays 116; registered voters: 355,184; and voting centers 75 with clustered precincts of 426,” he said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
“We will be using the vote counting machines (VCMs), automated as far as voting and counting are concerned,” he added.
The special polls to be held on Feb. 25 will determine the successor of then Represenative Jesus Crispin Remulla.
The congressional seat was declared vacant after Remulla, who won in the May 2022 polls, accepted the nomination of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to be the Secretary of Justice.
Four candidates are running for the position -- Jose Angelito Domingo Aguinaldo, Melencio Loyola de Sagun, Jr. and Crispin Diego Diaz Remulla, who is running under the National Unity Party. (PNA)
