(PNA file photo by Liza Agoot)
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to register around 5,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) during a two-day special satellite registration activity in jail facilities and detention centers starting Wednesday.
In an advisory on Tuesday, the poll body said the simultaneous voter registration drive is open for eligible PDLs detained in facilities under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
"The Commission on Elections will hold a nationwide simultaneous special satellite registration of PDLs in relation to the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE)," it said.
A ceremonial kick-off of the event will be held at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
Out of some 5,000 PDLs projected to benefit said activities, 3,015 of them are expected to register at the NBP alone.
Other facilities with eligible PDLs are the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City (679), Leyte Regional Prison (437), Davao Prison and Penal Farm (360), Zamboanga Prison and Penal Farm (208), Correctional Institution for Women in Panabo (94), Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (66), and the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (48).
Last year, the Supreme Court lifted the 2016 temporary restraining order (TRO) it issued against Comelec's resolution allowing PDLs to register and vote during elections.
This means that PDLs who are confined in jail, formally charged for any crime, and awaiting or undergoing trial, may register as voters.
Also eligible to register are those serving a sentence of imprisonment for less than one year and those whose conviction of a crime involving disloyalty to the duly constituted government, such as rebellion, sedition, violation of the firearms laws, or any crime against national security or for any other crime, is on appeal. (PNA)
