THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday extended by one day the voter registration period for the May 2025 national and local elections in areas affected by typhoon “Julian.”

The filing for applications to become voters ended yesterday. The poll body has earlier said it will not extend the registration period, noting that had been running since February 12 this year.

But yesterday, Comelec chairman George Garcia told reporters they have allowed local poll officials in areas hit by the typhoon to decide if there is a need to suspend the final day of voter registration and reset it to a later date.

“We have an existing guideline where we leave the decision to the Regional Election Directors. What is important is they can immediately decide without having to wait for the approval of the head office,” Garcia said.

He said the additional day will be held after the filing of Certificates of Candidacies, which is set from October 1 to 8.

So far, Garcia said Batanes yesterday suspended its voter registration activities due to strong rains caused by Julian.

“That is the right call because we must prioritize the safety of our people and the Comelec personnel,” said the poll chief.

On Monday, fierce winds and high waves hit many coastal areas in northern Luzon as they faced the wrath of Julian.

LAST DAY

Garcia said many applicants flocked to registration centers during the weekend to beat the September 30 deadline.

“There were many last-minute filers since Saturday. We are happy that there are many who want to meet the deadline, and we have been expecting this,” he said.

Citing their initial assessment of the registration period, Garcia said “the voter registration period was successful.”

“We were able to accomplish our 3 million projection,” he said.

In a separate interview, Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said their latest tally showed there were 6.9 million voter registrants, of which three million are new voters.

“We expect the numbers to increase further after we include those that applied since Saturday until those that applied today (Monday),” he said.