Comelec to launch mobile voter registration app on June 15
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections said it will launch a mobile app for voter registration on Tuesday as its deadline of September 30 nears.
In a release, the poll body said the project aims to streamline the registration process, as it can be accessed by anyone with a smartphone and even offline.
"The launch of the mobile app is very timely in the face of mobility restrictions brought about by COVID-19," said commissioner Marlon Casquejo, who was behind the initiative.
Comelec said the maiden launch will be in Tagum City in Davao del Norte on Tuesday afternoon.
PRESS RELEASE: COMELEC Launches Mobile Registration App@jabjimenez @dirfrancesarabe pic.twitter.com/gzlP5kDBD8
— COMELEC (@COMELEC) June 14, 2021
This month, it said the app was rolled out in chosen pilot areas, and is being tried in over 500 cities and municipalities across the country.
The agency added that a QR code will be generated after filling up an accomplishment form. The mobile registration form can be downloaded here.
"You must save the QR code on your smartphone, and afterwards, you may visit your local Comelec office to have [it] scanned and your biometrics taken," Casquejo added.
Election Day is set less than a year from now, or on May 9, 2022. Filipinos will troop to polling stations to make the crucial choice of who will lead the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic and to recovery.
In end-May, Comelec said it was close to meeting its target of 60 million registered voters, but added that some 14 million qualified have yet to sign up.
The poll body has since been urged to extend the registration deadline beyond September 30, but there remains no word on this yet.
Get the latest updates on the Philippines' preparation for the May 2022 national elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Main image by The STAR/Michael Varcas
Local executives are optimistic of peaceful elections on Monday in North Cotabato and Basilan provinces.
North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza says Saturday she is thankful to the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade of the 6th Infantry Division and units of the Eastern Mindanao Command in the province for supporting extensively the efforts of the Commission on Elections to ensure the safety of polling activities on Monday.
“We are also thankful to the Cotabato Provincial Police Office and the Police Regional Office-12 for their initiatives towards that goal. We are looking forward to a peaceful electoral exercise in our province on Monday,” Mendoza says. — The STAR/John Unson
Comelec names Director John Rex Laudiangco as the new spokesperson of the commission, replacing James Jimenez.
May 9, election day, has been declared a special non-working holiday.
In a proclamation released Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte declared the holiday "to enable the people to properly exercise their right to vote, subject to the public health measures of the national government." — report from Alexis Romero
READ: Proclamation No. 1357 declaring May 9, election day, a special non-working holiday @PhilippineStar @Philstarnews pic.twitter.com/EvUUNb8Yuf
— Alexis B. Romero (@alexisbromero) May 5, 2022
The Bangsamoro police has mobilized 6,347 personnel to guard 1,195 polling sites in five provinces under its jurisdiction.
Brig. Gen. Arthur Cabalona, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, says Thursday the contingent includes 706 Reaction Standby Support Force and 405 Quick Reactionary Force personnel for deployment to Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces.
Tension has markedly been high in some towns in both provinces owing to the deep-seated political animosity among local clans.
Besides Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao also covers the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato. — John Unson
The Commission on Election starts the distribution and conduct of the testing and sealing of the vote counting machines (VCMs) six days prior to the election day in the remote and far flung villages in Zamboanga City.
The early distribution of the VCMs was made with the authority of the Comelec central office following the recommendation of the local poll body here, says District 2 officer Atty. Stephen Roy Cañete.
“We asked permission and we were given the authority by the Comelec central office to start the distribution of the VMCs early. In case there will be glitches we still have enough time to replace the defective VCM,” Cañete says. — The STAR/Roel Pareño
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