Comelec relents, to extend voter registration

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, has agreed to extend registration of voters for another three weeks, commencing from the end of filing of the certificate of candidacy (COC) this month of October.

Comelec officials, including chairman Sheriff M. Abbas, confirmed the extension that would commence from October 11 to October 30, 2021. The filing of the COC, on the other hand, would commence from October 1 to October 8, 2021.

Prior to this, during the ‘Meet the Press/Report to the Nation’ media forum of the National Press Club (NPC) last September 24, 2021, James Jimenez, Comelec spokesperson, said the poll body can only agree to extend the voters’ registration by a mere one week due to time constraint (see also Pinoy Exposé Volume 2, Issue No. 38).

During the forum, Jimenez also said the Comelec would announce its decision on September 29, 2021, after it holds its en banc session.

The Comelec turnaround came after the Senate unanimously approved two days earlier, September 27, 2021, SB 2048, extending the registration period by 30 days, in concurrence to a similar bill approved earlier by the House of Representatives.

Emerging from the en banc meeting afterwards, Jimenez told the media: “Extension is from October 11 to 30; Monday-Friday, no Saturdays, except for the last day (October 30), 8 am to 5 pm. All registration services offered.”

He added the en banc decided on the dates so the Comelec can first focus its attention during the first week of October on the filing of the COCs.

Jimenez also said that the extension period for Filipino overseas voters would commence from October 1 to October 14, 2021.

“Note that for overseas voting, the filing of COCs is not an issue, thus the extension starts immediately,” Jimenez added.

In a brief statement to the media, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, principal author of SB 2048, praised the Comelec’s decision

“We thank Chairman Abas and the Comelec for hearing the call not just of Congress, but of our people.

“Judging by the packed lines at our registration sites, talagang gusto po ng maraming Pilipino na makaboto, and they deserve the chance to do so,” Zubiri said.

In his statement, Zubiri also said the extension of the registration would commence on October 9, or two days earlier than what Jimenez told the media.