MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) denied on Wednesday the appeal of various lawmakers to extend the voter registration deadline beyond September 30, citing operational difficulties.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a virtual press conference that the majority of the Commission en banc members decided not to prolong the registration period because it would have a “domino effect” on the preparations for the May 9, 2022 elections.
“We have said so many times before the voter registration period ends on September 30, 2021…and immediately after that there are several activities that are already very critical to the success of the 2022 elections. Basically, the overview reiterated what the en banc already knew was that this will have an effect on all of these other activities. you delay one, and you basically delay everything else,” he added.
He did, however, say that the poll board has agreed to extend the registration hours, and that voter registration will be available on Saturdays and holidays.
Jimenez stated that the details will be published once the resolution is approved.
Senators Nancy Binay, Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, Ralph Recto, Franklin Drilon, and Joel Villanueva had previously filed a resolution to extend the voter registration period beyond September 30.
This came when Metro Manila and other regions were placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ (MECQ), causing voter registration to be suspended.
According to the most recent Comelec data, the number of registered voters for next year’s elections has reached 60.1 million.
More than 58 million are current registered voters, more than 1.2 million are new registrants, and more than 800,000 are first-time voters who will turn 18 before the elections.
The recent data from the Comelec also showed there are approximately 6.3 million delisted voters.
