Comelec: Voter registration still suspended in areas under MECQ

Voter registration will remain suspended in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission on Elections said Friday.

Likewise, the Comelec reminded voters that voter registration hours in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) have been extended to include Saturdays and holidays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting August 23. 

"In areas under ECQ and MECQ where voter registration is suspended, the new registration schedule will automatically take effect once the quarantine classification is downgraded to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) or MGCQ," the poll body added. 

Meanwhile, quarantine classification for the National Capital Region, the provinces of Laguna, and Bataan will be downgraded to MECQ starting August 21, and until August 31.

Under the MECQ, indoor and outdoor dining, as well as personal care services such as salons and spa centers and religious gatherings are prohibited.

Earlier, the poll body rejected the calls of lawmakers and voter education groups to extend voter registration beyond September 30, saying such extension will affect preparations for the conduct of the 2022 polls.

Voter registration is held in malls, barangays, schools, universities and other public places.

On the other hand, pro-democracy coalition Participate reiterated its call to extend the voter registration period, arguing that more than 2,500 members of civic, academic, youth, women, religious, and other sectoral groups support the call.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, they pointed out that while 73.3 million Filipinos are eligible to vote by 2022, only 60 million are registered so far.

"This means more than 13.3 million Filipinos are not yet registered. Given the multiple hard lockdowns in various parts of the country and the closure of satellite voter registration sites due to the Delta variant of the coronavirus, concluding voter’s registration too early may risk disenfranchising the 13.3 million unregistered potential voters,” they said in a separate statement.

“This number is enough to change the outcome of the upcoming 2022 national and local elections," they added. —LBG, GMA News