LURING MORE VOTERS. Commission on Elections chairperson George Erwin Garcia (right) leads the poll body's voter education and registration fair at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on Thursday (March 14, 2024). The poll body is keen on tapping malls as voting sites for the 2025 midterm elections. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is keen on tapping anew private establishments such as malls as voting centers for the May 2025 midterm polls.
This is to minimize crowding and prevent the "wear and tear" of facilities of public schools which are usually utilized as voting centers, Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in a press briefing Thursday.
“Kung andito tayo sa ganitong lugar, maayos ang lugar, maayos ang pila at hindi nagagamit mga paaralan. Kung sakali may ibang lugar na ibibigay sa atin ng libre, katulad ng malls, mas maganda dun na lang gawin (If we are in this kind of place, the place is conducive, the queues are organized, we do not have to use schools anymore. If ever there are other places that can be given to us for free, like malls, it would be better),” Garcia said.
Currently, the Comelec is holding voter registration in selected malls all over the country which started on Feb. 12 and will end on Sept. 30.
“171 malls ang pinapagamit ang spaces para sa registration natin. Kaya naman pala gawin at pwede pala gamitin ang iba pang (Some 171 malls are allowing us to use their space for our voters registration. We saw that this is possible, we can make use of other) public places other than elementary schools,” he added.
However, Garcia said they would still be tapping public schools as voting centers, particularly in far-flung areas.
“Pero syempre, may mga lugar na no choice kundi gamitin elementary schools dahil yun lang medyo maayos na facility sa isang barangay, lalo sa (But of course, there are areas where we have no choice but to use elementary schools as these are the only conducive facilities in a village, especially in) far flung areas,” he said.
At the same time, the Comelec chairman said there will be consultations on precincts that are going to be transferred to malls.
"The malls are in the town proper. Of course, we would not transfer precincts located in far-flung areas to malls. These can apply to areas near malls. We need a bigger space because people will flock there. I hope malls would participate in our mall voting plan," Garcia said.
The malls that are participating in the seven-month voter registration period are SM Supermalls, Robinsons Malls, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, and Filinvest Festival Malls. (PNA)
