1,600 in Cebu fail to make voter registration deadline

CEBU, Philippines - About 1,600 voters in Cebu failed to register after the Commission on Elections terminated last Saturday the registration for the coming 2010 presidential elections.

Comelec provincial election supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano admitted that these people were no longer accepted by their offices in Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu and Consolacion because they could not be accommodated until midnight of October 31 when the listing of voters ended.

“Naa gyud tay daghang nabalibaran,” Castillano said.

According to Castillano, Lapu-Lapu City has the most number of people that were not accommodated followed by Cebu City and Consolacion.

Castillano said there were about 1,000 voters who failed to register in Lapu-Lapu, more or less 500 in Cebu City and more than 100 in Consolacion.

He said that these people were already lining up outside the Comelec office but had to be refused by the election officers because they could not be accommodated anymore. Castillano explained that each Comelec office only has two computers which are not enough to accommodate the volume of late registrants.

Castillano said they can only accommodate a maximum of 1,300 registrants a day but last Saturday there were about 3,000 or more registrants lining up. The problem in Consolacion, according to Castillano, was that the people started coming to the Comelec office only at 6 p.m.

Cebu City south district election officer Edwin Cadungog said that the two computers are not enough to accommodate the volume of registrants. He said he requested for additional computers from Comelec Manila but nothing arrived.

Cadungog said the city government offered to lend some computers to augment their two units but the Comelec Manila did not allow it unless it will be donated.

Castillano however said that those who failed to register have no one to blame but themselves because they were given the opportunity to register. Castillano said since October 1 Comelec has extended their office hours until 7 p.m.

Castillano said they also worked Saturdays and Sundays for two weeks to ensure that everybody can register, but those who failed to register opted to come during the last day of the registration. — Fred P. Languido/BRP   (FREEMAN NEWS)