Monday, July 30, 2007 Barangay chief asks Comelec to ease rules for new voters
A BARANGAY captain in Lapu-Lapu City is worried by the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) reportedly allowing only 100 persons a day to register, saying many new voters may not be able to sign up with only two days left in the extended registration.
Angel Rodriguez of Barangay Punta Engaño said the policy is causing disorder among applicants.
“Paunahan na lang talaga (They fight to get in line first),” Rodriguez said. Some ended up leaving the island for the mainland at 2 a.m. but still failed to register because of the policy, he added.
But Election Officer Ann Janette Lamban said that while it’s true only 100 plastic chairs are outside the Comelec, that is only for the convenience of those who need to fill up application forms and be interviewed.
There is no limit in accepting new registrants as long as her office is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., she added.
“We are limiting up to 100 people only for picture-taking. We’re working on a backlog and have to make sure we take the photos of those who have submitted their registration forms,” she said.
Comelec stopped the registration last July 21 and 22, while the poll body focused on the plebiscite that transformed the city into a highly urbanized one.
But Comelec later extended the registration until July 31.
Rodriguez said the other policy of requiring company identification cards from the applicants also barred marginal fishers from coastal barangays, including Punta Engaño, from registering.
“Saan ka makakita ng mananagat na merong company ID? Most of the people here are fishers, so how can they register if that ID is required?” asked Rodriguez.
Lamban, however, said if there is no ID, the registrant can bring with him his birth certificate.
Proof
Comelec Resolution 8212 also states that the applicant may bring any other proof of identification such as a driver’s license, police clearance, passport or SSS/GSIS ID.
If he doesn’t have any of these documents, the Comelec may ask a registered voter in the same precinct or any of the applicant’s relatives up to the fourth civil degree to identify him, under oath.
Voter-applicants must be at least 18 years old, a resident of the Philippines for at least a year and must live six months before the elections in the area where he intends to vote.
Under Resolution 8257, Comelec authorized its field offices to work overtime for two hours on weekdays and eight hours on Saturdays and Sundays, from July 24 to Aug. 12, to work on the registration documents.
Comelec also gave its regional directors until Aug. 27 to report the number of polling precincts required for the Oct. 29 barangay and youth elections, using the updated voter registration data.
The last barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election was in 2002 yet. Before that, there were three barangay elections since 1986 and two SK elections. (AIV)
