New registered voters now at 1.5 million — Comelec

The number of new voters in the Philippines has increased to 1.5 million, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Garcia on Tuesday.

“Meron na po tayong 1.5 million na mga botante, bagong mga botante, SK [Sangguniang Kabataan] man o mga regular voters na nagbigay po ng intensyon na magparehistro bilang botante,” Garcia told Super Radyo dzBB.

(We have 1.5 million voters, new voters, whether they are for SK or regular voters who gave the intensyon to register as a voter.)

Meanwhile, he said around 2 million voters visited Comelec registration sites to modify their registration records, request a transfer, and reactivate their status.

Garcia stressed that registration ends at 5 p.m. on January 31.

“Tama po kayo ngayon po yung last day at wala pong extension. Inuulit ko po sa ating mga kababayan, wala pong extension. Hanggang ngayong araw na lamang po,” he said.

(You are right, this is the last day of registration and we have no extension. I repeat, there will be no extension.)

“Wag po natin sanayin yung sarili natin sa paniniwalang laging may extension at therefore magpapatumpik-tumpik tayo. Pwede pa po kayo humabol sa ating registration area,” he added.

(Let us not let ourselves get used to the belief that there will always be an extension, so we keep putting it off. You can still register at our registration areas.)

According to the Comelec chair, those waiting in line even after the 5 p.m. deadline will still be accommodated.

“At kung may nakapila pa o may naghihintay pa sa waiting area lampas ng alas singko lahat po sila ia-accomodate natin kahit medyo gabihin upang payagan makapag parehistro,” Garcia said.

(If there are still people in line or at the waiting area after 5 p.m., we will accommodate them.)

Currently, he said there are a total of 91 million voters in the country, of which 25 million are Sangguniang Kabataan voters and 66 million are regular voters.

The poll body estimates the total number of voters to increase to 92.5 million. — Joahna Lei Casilao/RSJ, GMA Integrated News