THE Commission on Elections-Davao Region (Comelec-Davao) encouraged Dabawenyos to register as early as now, as satellite registrations are still indefinitely suspended amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Comelec-Davao Spokesperson Gay Enumerables said they will not be deploying their personnel within barangays to conduct the registration.
"Wala po mga Comelec na mag-adto sa barangay para mag-conduct ng registration. Tanang transactions is sa opisina (We will not be deploying Comelec personnel to the barangays to conduct the registration. All transactions will be done in our offices),” Enumerables said.
In previous years, Comelec had been spearheading scheduled satellite registrations in different barangays in the region, catering to different transactions such as registration, transfer of registration record, change/correction of entries, reactivation of registration record, inclusion of registration record and reinstatement of name in the list of voters.
Enumerables encouraged non-voters to register for the upcoming 2022 elections, as the end of voter registration will be on September 30, 2021.
Since March 22, their office only accepts registrants from Mondays to Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The schedule was changed due to the rising Covid-19 cases in Manila.
Enumerables said they are still awaiting the directive from the Comelec national office for the adjustment of the schedules.
Prior to that, she said their schedule for registration is from Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
She also said minimum health protocols will be strictly observed within Comelec offices.
The official encouraged the public to accomplish required forms online and to set an appointment at the irehistro.comelec.gov.ph prior to visiting Comelec offices.
She also clarified that the forms downloaded online will still be required to be submitted personally to their nearest Comelec offices.
"Hindi kasi pwede ang registration na hindi personal, kasi kukunan kayo ni biometrics (We cannot conduct the registration purely online because we will be getting your biometrics)," she said.
While she did not have available data as of writing, she however observed an increase of registrants in March this year, combining the turnout from January and February.
She said this is still lower compared to the previous registration before the pandemic.
Meanwhile, she said they are currently preparing for the filing of certificate of candidacy slated on October 1 to 8 this year.