Comelec: Voters' registration open on Sundays starting May

Filipinos 18 years old and above will have less reason not to be registered as a voter after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday announced that its offices nationwide will be open even on Sundays.

Voters' registration will resume on May 6, 2014 until October 31, 2015, Sunday to Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to Comelec Resolution No. 9853.

Poll commissioner Grace Padaca said holding registration on a Sunday was suggested by their field personnel.

“Nakuha itong feedback sa baba na mas bumababa ang mga taga-barangay sa bayan kapag Linggo, mamamalengke, magsisimba, at kung gusto nila isabay yung kani-kanilang registration or validation dun nila gagawin,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

The new schedule was also announced by Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez on Twitter.

Aside from registration of new voters, election officers will also accommodate those seeking for transfer of registration records, change/corrections of entries in the registration records, reactivation of registration records, inclusion of registration records and reinstatement on the list of voters.

There will also be updating of records of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), senior citizens and members of the Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) or Indigenous Peoples' (IPs) and validation of registration of records.

All applications should be personally filed by the voter, the Comelec said.

The Comelec resolution stated that the election officer should provide an express lane for the exclusive use of the PWDs, senior citizens and heavily pregnant applicants and adopt a system to speed up the registration process.

The applications will be heard by the Election Registration Board, which will approve or disapprove it. The certified and final list of voters will be posted 90 days before the election or on the date set by Comelec.

Comelec records showed that as of August 19, 2013, there are 54,051,626 registered voters in the country.

Aside from registration, the poll body called on registered voters with incomplete biometrics data to update their records for the 2016 elections or risk being removed from the list.

Biometrics refer to the registrant’s picture, fingerprint and signature recorded by a computer during the registration period. The system supposedly helps the Comelec in purging the final voters' list of multiple registrants, who have been used by unscrupulous politicians to garner more votes in their favor.

The Comelec said a total of 9,018,256 registered voters do not have biometrics data or have incomplete information in the system. The validation of registration started in July 2013.

Those who fail to update their biometrics records will not be able to vote for the 2016 national elections, according to the Mandatory Biometrics Registration Act. They may reactivate their registration only after the 2016 elections. — AL/KBK, GMA News