Comelec reports high voter registration turnout at 600 applicants per site

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday reported a “high” voter registration turnout with an average of 600 applicants per registration site so far.

Comelec spokesperson Atty. John Rex Laudiangco said the poll body deployed monitoring teams to all registration sites in the NCR and selected localities in the nearby provinces of Cavite and Bulacan.

“As of closing time at 5:00 P.M. of 31 January 2023, reports from the ground show a high registration turnout with an average of 600 applications per registration site received thus far,” he said in a statement.

Chairman George Erwin Garcia, Commissioner Socorro Inting, Commissioner Rey E. Bulay, and Commissioner Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr., visited some sites in NCR, Cavite, and Bulacan to observe and gather feedback from the Comelec personnel and the public during their last-day registration experiences to each site.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Marlon Casquejo, Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, and Commissioner Nelson Celis made observation and monitoring rounds in the registration sites in the Mindanao provinces.

Laudiangco said most registration sites in NCR were transferred to venues inside partner malls for accessibility and the convenience of the public, and because most offices of the election officer (OEOs) lacked adequate office spaces to accommodate the influx of registrants.

“Registrants on queue at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. were duly accommodated, respectively, following COMELEC Resolution No. 10868 and the 30 January 2023 Memorandum of the Election and Barangay Affairs Department (EBAD) duly approved by Chairman Garcia,” he said.

“In spite of the high influx of registrants, lines were manageable, and queuing was smooth, with zero untoward incidents reported,” he added.

Laudiangco thanked the partner malls and other government agencies for assisting and ensuring orderliness and the safety of all participants in the registration processes. — DVM, GMA Integrated News