House panel OKs measure seeking monthlong voter registration extension

The House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms on Friday swiftly approved the bill seeking to extend the voter registration process until October 31, 2021.

During a panel meeting, Cavite Representative Elpidio Barzaga made a motion to approve House Bill 10261, noting the "urgency" of the measure.

Barzaga said the issue of extending the voter's registration has already been thoroughly discussed by the panel as well as in the oversight committee. He said senators have also proposed the extension of the voter registration period.

"Therefore, considering the urgency of this bill, coupled with the explanatory note given by Lawrence Fortun, and considering further that this is a bill filed by the leaders of the House not only from the majority but from the minority, I most respectfully moved for the approval of this bill so that it can be sent already to the plenary for the appropriate actions of the House of Representatives," Barzaga said.

Barzaga's motion was duly-seconded by Agusan del Norte Representative Lawrence Fortun, prompting the panel to approve it.

In the meeting, Commission on Elections commissioner Aimee Ferolino explained that the poll body's position not to extend the registration period is based on what is happening on the ground as their personnel are getting ill.

"Please understand that our people are getting sick, our people are dying. Just this last en banc meeting, we approved six financial aids for people who died in the field. We are exposed to health hazards as well as the COVID virus," she said.

She also said the timeline is so tight, making a month-long extension difficult.

Filed by House leaders Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano, the bill seeks to compel the Commission on Elections to extend the September 30,2021 deadline of voter registration until next month.

They said the extension aims to prevent massive voter disenfranchisement brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twenty-three senators have filed a bill seeking to extend the voter registration period for the 2022 national and local elections.

So far, the Comelec has insisted on sticking to the September 30 deadline although it said it is open to a weeklong extension after the filing of certificate of candidacy from October 1 to 8.  —KBK, GMA News