AN OFFICIAL from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said that applicants who do not receive registration confirmation letters may visit their respective Comelec offices after April to check on their registration application status for the 2025 midterm polls.
George Erwin Garcia, chairperson of Comelec, said in an interview with the media on Friday, March 15, 2024, that the election registration board of Comelec, which is made up of local Comelec offices, personnel from the local Civil Registrars, and local Supervisor Superintendents of the Department of Education (DepEd), will be having a meeting in April.
Omar Sharif Mamalinta, spokesperson for the Comelec in Cebu province and election officer for Carcar City, said the meeting is held quarterly.
Garcia announced that the meeting would review all applications and produce a list for the first batch of successful candidates by April or May.
According to him, those whose applications have been denied will be notified through email. But if no notification is received, they may visit their respective Comelec offices to inquire about their application status after April.
Garcia said that an application may be rejected if someone challenges the authenticity of the applicant's residence.
Garcia assured the registered individuals who might need to relocate for work before the 2025 Midterm elections that the Comelec precinct finder will be released weeks before the actual poll date in May, to help them find their assigned precinct and registration status. This will prevent them from facing any issues during Election Day.
Additionally, registered voters will receive a voter's information sheet from Comelec that will contain guidance, including a list of voting centers.
RAP
Garcia visited the launch of Comelec's Register Anywhere Program (RAP) in Lapu-Lapu City at the Bangkal Barangay Hall on Friday.
The Comelec has introduced RAP as a convenient way for voters to register. With RAP, voters are no longer limited to registering at their local Comelec office. Instead, they can register at designated sites across the country, regardless of their current residence.
During the event, Garcia announced Comelec's plan to expand the reach of RAP beyond highly urbanized cities and capital towns and cities to cover any part of the country.
"Huwag kayong mag-alala sa mga susunod nating registrations pupwede na nating gawin sana yan kahit saang parti ng ating bansa. Hopefully baka pupwede sa kahit anong munisipyo or syudad sa ating bansa kahit pa hindi sya highly urbanized city," said Garcia.
(Don't worry about our next registrations, we will be able to do that at any party in our country soon. Hopefully, we can do it in any municipality or city in our country even if it is not a highly urbanized city.)
According to Garcia, RAP has also recently been introduced to various religious organizations such as Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), Ang Dating Daan, Jesus is Lord, El Shaddai, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and even Catholic churches.
As of March 15, Garcia reported that there are already approximately 10,000 Rap applicants nationwide.
This is in addition to the approximately 1.3 million registrants who have visited Comelec offices to register for the 2025 midterm elections under regular registration across the country.
Garcia said the Comelec projected that at least 3 million people will register by September 30 as registration ends nationwide.
Lapu-Lapu registration
During a separate interview, Ann Janette Lamban, Lapu-Lapu City election officer of Comelec, said that the registration of RAP was peaceful and orderly on Friday.
In addition to RAP, Comelec Lapu-Lapu also conducted a satellite registration on the same day.
Lamban informed SunStar Cebu on Saturday, March 16, that a total of 591 applicants had registered on Friday. Among them, 18 were RAP applicants. (HIC)