200,000 voters apply for voter registration

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly 200,000 voters have applied for registration for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections this October as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) resumed voter registration nationwide yesterday.

Comelec deputy executive director for operations Rafael Olanio said the poll body has recorded a total of 188,129 voter registrants from the Dec. 12 to 30, 2022 voter registration, composed of 60,491 registrants aged 15 to 17; 101,944 aged 18 to 30 and 25,694 aged 31 and above.

“To the registrants, after the new year break, we are starting again…our voter registration and will last until the end of January… The latest figures are still a bit few,” Olanio told reporters in Filipino at a press conference yesterday.

“We are inviting those who haven’t registered yet but are qualified registrants for the SK elections as well as regular voters, go to Comelec offices. Others have satellites at the malls; just check the website to know the locations,” he added.

The Comelec resumed its regular voter registration on Dec. 12 last year in all of its offices nationwide, along with its satellite voter registration and the Register Anywhere Project (RAP) at select malls in the country.

The registration is expected to end on Jan. 31.

The RAP, which will resume this Saturday, is held every weekend until Jan. 22 at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, SM Southmall in Las Piñas and SM City in Legazpi, Albay as well as Robinsons Malls in Manila, Pasig, Tacloban and Naga.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they are planning to visit the Kalayaan Island on Jan. 14 in a bid to highlight the voter registration as they intend to bring all of their voter registration efforts to Batanes, Tawi-tawi and “in other places” in the country.

“This is to elevate the level of knowledge of our fellow Filipinos to register and avail themselves especially of RAP,” Garcia told reporters during the Comelec’s first press conference for this year yesterday.

He added that they have yet to talk about a possible extension of the registration period as he urged the public to take the opportunity and avoid the rush.

Comelec spokesman Rex Laudiangco said their “vulnerable office” headed by Commissioner Aimee Ferolino would conduct voter registration for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the New Bilibid Prison and at the Leyte Regional Prisons in Abuyog, Leyte.

Laudiangco added that similar activities would be held at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, in Panabo, Davao del Norte and at the Zamboanga Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga; Davao and Penal Prison and Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

Voter registration will also be held at the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro.

Laudiangco said they have already recorded 30,281 registered voters under the “vulnerable sector,” composed of the persons with special needs, elderlies, indigenous peoples and PDLs as he expressed hope that the figure will increase in the coming days.

Comelec executive director Teofisto Elnas Jr. said they are targeting to reach an additional 1.5-2 million registered voters for the October barangay and SK elections.