Voter registration: Party seeks extension

CEBU, Philippines - Kabataan Partylist Representative Terry Ridon asked the Commission on Elections to extend the voter’s registration period from October 31 to January 8 next year.

Aside from this, Ridon also asked the poll body to provide local absentee voting to business process outsourcing workers.

In two separate communications sent to the Comelec En Banc yesterday, Ridon requested for the extension of the voter’s registration period, explaining that those dates are  “the maximum mandated period under Republic Act No. 8189 (RA 8189), otherwise known as The Voters Registration Act of 1996.”

Ridon, a lawyer, cited Section 8 of RA 8189 which states, “the personal filing of application of registration of voters shall be conducted daily in the office of the Election Officer during regular office hours. No registration shall, however, be conducted during the period starting one hundred twenty days before a regular election and ninety days before a special election.”

The youth lawmaker also cited the Supreme Court case of Palatino vs. Comelec, in which the High Court stated that there is no conflict with the mandate of continuing voter registration under RA 8189 and the authority of the COMELEC under RA 6646 and RA 8436 to fix other dates for pre-election acts.

The case was won by former Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino in 2009, which led to the extension of the voter’s registration period for the 2010 elections.

 “Even if we worked hand in hand with COMELEC to amplify the voter registration campaign, we believe that there will still be a significant percent of the voting population who will be disenfranchised if we push through with the October 31 deadline for registration,” Ridon said.

Ridon is also requesting the poll body to allow special elections for BPO workers, similar to the local absentee voting granted to mass media practitioners.

Ridon explained that several BPO workers’ groups, including the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN), have expressed concern over the fact that BPO companies “disregard Philippine holidays, which include May 9, Election Day,” thus denying BPO workers their right to suffrage.

 “It is the fervent wish of this representation that COMELEC attend to the urgent plea of BPO workers,” Ridon said, noting the BIEN estimates that a million BPO workers might be disenfranchised in the coming 2016 elections.  (FREEMAN)