THE Commission on Elections-Central Visayas (Comelec 7) has reminded the public, particularly the unregistered Filipinos 15 years old and above, to visit the nearest Comelec office or satellite offices before the voter’s registration ends this month.
Comelec 7 Acting Director Lionel Marco Castillano said the agency is still accepting applications for new voters’ registration, transfer of polling precinct to another precinct, correction of entries, and reactivation of voter’s registration.
The voter’s registration will end on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
Castillano said the voter’s registration is part of the agency’s preparations for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, which will be held on Oct. 30, 2023.
He urged the public to register early to avoid overcrowding, especially on the last day of registration.
“Please visit the Comelec FB pages in the place where you live so you will know where the Comelec is currently conducting its registration because we have offsite and mall registration,” Castillano told SunStar Cebu on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023.
Applicants can also download for free the registration forms from the links posted on the Comelec Facebook pages. The forms are also available at their offices and off-site registration venues.
Castillano said applicants must bring one valid government-issued ID or company ID.
The Comelec also accepts a student ID for students or those 15 years old and above who are registering for the SK polls.
As of Jan. 23, the Comelec 7 had processed 104,936 applications, 68,737 of which were from Cebu Province, including the highly urbanized cities.
There were also 17,498 applications from Negros Oriental, 17,233 from Bohol, and 1,468 from Siquijor.
Castillano said these applications are new voter’s registration, transfer of polling precinct to another precinct, correction of entries, and reactivation of voter’s registration.
The exact numbers of new registered voters in the region will be determined after the registration ends next week.
Castillano said that based on the 2022 national elections, Cebu, including the independent cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu, had over 3.3 million registered voters.
Castillano said the number of new voters’ registration has kept increasing, as the agency has focused its efforts on the registration of senior high students for SK elections.
In Lapu-Lapu City, the Comelec has also extended its services to residents of Olango Island to increase voter registration.
Starting two weeks ago, Castillano said the Comelec has ramped up its off-site registration in schools, barangays, island barangays and malls.