The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to open additional desks in shopping malls here in line with the extension of the voter registration until the end of the month.
Vincent Dumaguit, Election Assistant II of the city Comelec office, said Wednesday the negotiations are ongoing with the management of at least two shopping malls here for the holding of the offsite registration.
He said the prospective sites are Robinsons Place and the SM City mall, which they previously tapped as registration sites.
Comelec central office earlier extended the voter registration from Oct. 11 to 30 to accommodate residents who failed to enlist by the initial deadline last Sept. 30.
The filing of the certificates of candidacy of political aspirants started last Oct. 1 and will end on Friday (Oct. 8).
“We will conduct the registration in our office during the first week and then expand it to the shopping malls by the second week,” Dumaguit said in a radio interview.
He clarified that the registration activities will only be conducted Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It will cater to the application of new voters and other transactions such as the transfer of voter registration, correction of entries, and reactivation of registration records, he said.
Dumaguit said residents who want to register as voters or have other transactions may set an appointment online through the Comelec website’s iRehistro portal.
“Those with online appointments will be accommodated in the special or priority lanes,” he said.
He said they will no longer conduct barangay satellite registration due to the lack of time to prepare and their limited personnel.
Dumaguit said the upcoming registration activities will strictly comply with the standard health protocols, such as the observance of safe physical distancing and the wearing of face masks and face shields.
Comelec-South Cotabato, which has jurisdiction over this city, earlier said it expects a significant increase in the number of registered voters in the city as a result of the extended voter registration.
The city posted a total of 301,106 eligible voters in the 2019 local and national midterm elections.
Source: Philippines News Agency
