Comelec junks extension of voters’ registration

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday junked a Senate resolution asking for a month-long extension of voter’s registration for the May 2022 national and local elections amid postponements due to the implementation of various community quarantines in the country.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said instead of extending the deadline, the poll body prolonged the voter’s registration hours for the last 42 days until Sept. 30.

Citing public health concerns and preparations for next year’s elections, Jimenez said voter registration would also be open on Saturdays and holidays.

“The en banc, citing concerns about the timeline of preparations for the 2022 national and local elections and the continuing apprehensions about the health and safety of the public and Comelec personnel, decided against extending the voter’s registration period beyond Sept. 30, 2021,” he said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senators Francis Pangilinan, Nancy Binay, Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros and Joel Villanueva urged the Comelec to extend registration to Oct. 31 to avoid “voter disenfranchisement” due to the pandemic.

‘Reconsider decision’

Pangilinan asked the Comelec to reconsider its decision to reject calls for registration extension and take into account all the lost days due to the community quarantines.

He reiterated that Sept. 30 was a “pre-pandemic” deadline and appealed to the Comelec to adapt and adjust to the pandemic situation to avoid the disenfranchisement of millions of Filipino voters.

“We regret that the Comelec did not heed the clamor to extend the registration period despite the glaring numbers of lost registration days due to the pandemic. We strongly feel that the pre-pandemic deadline is no longer applicable today,” he said.

Data showed that in 2020, about 28.3 percent of days dedicated to voter registration were lost because of work suspensions due to COVID-19. Metro Manila lost 38.6 percent of the registration period.

This year, voter’s registration was suspended twice in the NCR Plus and other highly urbanized areas.

“Four out of 10 registration days were lost during the five-and-a-half-month voter’s registration suspension in 2020. We should make up for this lost time by extending the registration period. An estimated 13.3 million of our compatriots have not yet registered. If the deadline is not extended, they may run out of time and not be able to register and exercise their right to vote in 2022, ” Pangilinan said.

“We are grateful to the Comelec for approving the extension of the registration time, as well as the opening of the office on Saturdays and holidays. Maybe it can grant the request of our compatriots to extend the deadline to at least two more weeks,” he said.

Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said the decision not to extend voter registration is due to the pre-election work that has to be done, including the assigning of voters’ names to precincts by December and the printing of official ballots by January 2022. – Cecille Suerte Felipe