Instead of 3 pm closing time: Polling precincts open until 7 p.m.

CEBU, Philippines - Voters have longer time to go out of their way to cast their votes in their respective polling places on May 13 elections.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) set that the voting precincts be open from 7:00 in the morning to 7:00 in the evening. But still the voters are advised to come to the polling areas early because each precinct may serve up to 1,000 voters.

Cebu election officer, lawyer Ferdinand Gujilde, said that the voting would continue even up to the next day provided that the voters are already within the 20 meters from the polling precinct before 7:00 in the evening.

Gujilde yesterday asked the barangay captains to help disseminate the information as some still think that the polling precincts will be closed at 3:00 in the afternoon like in the previous elections.

Gujilde was among the guests during the quarterly meeting of the Liga ng mga Barangay – Cebu Province led by Board Member Jose Ribomapil Holganza Jr.

The Comelec also encourages registered voters to confirm their status and precincts with their respective local offices.

Active registered voters, meaning newly-registered voters and existing voters who were able to cast their ballots in the last two elections, will be allowed to vote.

A voter’s registration is deactivated when he or she fails to vote in two “successive preceding regular elections.”

In this case, if he or she was unable to vote during the 2010 Barangay Elections, and the 2010 National and Local Elections, they are now considered a deactivated voter who should have filed for reactivation during the registration period.

Voters may ask for assistance from the desks of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), the accredited citizen’s arm of the Comelec in the elections.

The Board of Election Inspectors may give assistance to persons with disabilities, senior citizens, and illiterate voters. Relatives of persons with disabilities are also allowed to aid them in voting. —/ jpm (FREEMAN)