THE Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is giving the public all the more reason to avoid filing their applications to become registered voters at the last minute: the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a radio interview, Elections spokesman James Jimenez again called on potential voters to file their applications as early as possible to avoid long queues in the Offices of Election Officers (OEOs) or in off-site registration centers, especially amid the presence of the novel virus.
“In the Philippines, we have a tendency to be buzzer beaters. So, we expect that many will come near the end once again. It was a problem for us before. All the more now that we have this COVID-19,” Jimenez said.
The poll official said they hope that more individuals will heed their call with satellite voter registration activities already allowed.
Having satellite voter registration activities, he pointed, will make the process more accessible to the public.
“Registration can already be done outside local Comelec offices. Many will hopefully get registered because it is more convenient for the people,” Jimenez said.
“The schedules of satellite voter registration activities are already posted at the Comelec Facebook page,” added Jimenez.
Based on the latest Comelec data, there are already 3,483,298 voter registration applications filed from January 20, 2020 to May 15, 2021.
The schedule of applications for voter registration is from Mondays to Fridays, or in satellite voter registration sites during Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The voter registration period for the May 2022 national and local polls will run until September 30, 2021.
