THE Election Registration Board (ERB) of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Bacolod City has disapproved at least 30 voter registration applications during their initial deliberation on Monday, March 6.

City Election Officer Kathrina Trinio-Caña said yesterday that the ERB hearing was scheduled for March 6 and it will end on March 10.

She said in initial ERB hearing, at least 30 applicants were disapproved for using fake identification cards, among others.

From December 12, 2022, to January 31, 2023, Comelec-Bacolod recorded at least 13,000 new registrants in the city and subjected them to ERB hearings.

The ERB, chaired by Trinio-Caña along with its members, the Civil Registrar Office and the Department of Education (DepEd)-Bacolod, will also deliberate the documents of the applicants who are facing opposition complaints.

Trinio-Caña said of the 13,000 new registrants, 16 applicants were opposed.

Of the number, 14 are from Barangay 4, while two others are from Barangay 41.

Trinio-Caña said the complainants submitted their documents and that the 16 applicants are allegedly not residents of the said barangays.

"We already have our decision, but we will release the final data by next week," she added.

Trinio-Caña noted that the notice of disapproval will be served to the applicants next week.

"After the ERB hearing on Friday, we will notify those applicants who were disapproved," Trinio-Caña said.

She said they are now concentrating on the ERB hearing for the cleansing of their records for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October.

She added that they are also preparing for the precinct clustering that will be used for the barangay and SK elections.*