'REGISTER ANYWHERE'. A nun places her thumb on a scanning device for biometrics data capturing during the voter education and registration fair at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on March 14, 2024. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) implemented its Special Register Anywhere Program (SRAP) in select areas during the voter registration period for the 2025 midterm polls, which runs from Feb. 12 to Sept. 30 this year. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to hold its Register Anywhere Program (RAP) in all local government units (LGUs) in the next voter registration period.
"In the next voter registration period, we may already have RAP in any part of the country. Hopefully, we will be able to do it in every city or municipality in the Philippines," Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia said in an interview Friday.
The move is in response to the public's "warm reception" towards the RAP, he said.
Currently, the RAP in the ongoing voter registration period is only limited to some places, which started on Feb. 12 and will end on Sept. 30.
"Based on our rules, it is available only in all capital cities and towns and highly urbanized cities nationwide," he added.
Those qualified to register at the RAP must be residing anywhere in the Philippines, have to submit their application form, documentary requirements and have their biometrics taken onsite.
The documents and biometrics data will then be endorsed and transmitted by the recipient RAP teams to the Office of the Election Officer of the district/city/municipality having jurisdiction over the residence of the applicant.
The Comelec pilot tested the RAP in some malls and government offices during the voter registration activities held from Dec. 12, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2023. (PNA)
