THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) has agreed to extend voter registration from an original Sept. 30 deadline after lawmakers passed a bill seeking the extension.
Local voters may register from Oct. 11 to 30, while Filipinos overseas may do so from Oct. 1 to 14, election spokesman James B. Jimenez told an online news briefing on Wednesday.
The registration will temporarily stop when politicians file their certificates of candidacy from Oct 1 to 8.
Registration will be from 8 a.m.. to 5 p.m. on Mondays to Fridays, except on the last day of registration on Oct. 30 which falls on a Saturday, at all Comelec offices and satellite registration sites in malls.
Several senators thanked the Comelec for heeding the call of the public to extend the registration.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives this week approved on third and final reading separate bills that seek to extend the registration period after the Comelec rejected the proposal.
Senator Franklin M. Drilon had also asked his fellow senators to cut the election body’s budget if it refuses to heed their call.
There had been 62 million registered Filipino voters as of Sept. 18, 5.4 million of whom were new, Comelec Director Elaiza David told a televised news briefing.
The number has exceeded the commission’s expectation of 59 million registered voters and 4 million new registrants for the May 2022 elections.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the country has 73.3 million qualified voters. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago