BAGUIO CITY – Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community in the city who want to register for the December barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will be prioritized on July 9, the Commission on Elections said Thursday.

“To achieve an inclusive and gender-sensitive registration of voters as well as to encourage sector participation, we will conduct a special LGBTQ registration from 8:00 to 5:00 p.m. on July 9, 2022. Let us hear your voice through the ballots! Register now!,” Comelec-Baguio said in its social media post.

Baguio election supervisor John Paul Martin, however, clarified in a private message via social media on Thursday: “Hindi po siya exclusive sa kanila (The day is not exclusive to them).... We just give them special preference on Saturday.”

He also said voters can still register on Saturday even if it had been declared a holiday to commemorate Eid'l Adha.

Registration for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, scheduled in December, runs from July 4 to 23.

Martin said the registration will continue to be done at the Comelec compound along Governor Pack Road.

“We are still negotiating with SM for another round of satellite registration,” he said.

Martin said in previous voter registrations, several voters tend to flock to the Comelec office at the last minute.

He said this year's voters' registration is not only for new registrations and reactivation of registration but also for transfer of registration and correction or change of entries in the registration. (PNA)