Comelec may lift modified registration schedule soon

CEBU, Philippines - The modified five-day work week schedule of registration for the 2016 elections may be restored to its original scheme, the Commission on Elections said.

Comelec-Cebu election supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano said that it has observed that opening its offices on Sundays seems applicable only in the cities. Castillano said there is only very small number of applicants that come to its field offices on Sundays especially in the provinces.

"My record shows that only in the cities nga daghan ang moadto sa Comelec. Sa provinces, mingaw kaayo kay way mangadto ug Sundays," he said.

In the modified registration schedule, Comelec offices are open from Sunday through Friday.

Castillano has recommended to the Comelec central office to implement the modified schedule in the cities only but restore the Monday to Saturday schedule in the provinces.

Comelec-Manila which has the same observation will do an assessment to whether or not continue the modified scheme, Castillano added. The result of the assessment is expected next month.

He added that some Comelec workers wanted to have their Sundays vacant so they can attend to their religious and family obligations. The deadline of registration is on October 31 next year.

Meanwhile, in order to avoid huge influx of applicants during the few weeks before the registration ends in October next year, some Comelec offices in the province have started conducting offsite registration. These include the cities of Toledo, Bogo and Mandaue.

Castillano said that offsite registration can be conducted upon the determination of the election officer.

"Kung tan-aw nila mingaw na unya kinahanglan na mag-offsite. Mo-report lang sila diri just to confirm asa sila gusto mag-offsite," he added.

In its latest report, Comelec-Cebu recorded total of 61, 054 registrants in the province during the first month of registration.

The registration-related transactions include the transfer of registration records, change of name, corrections of entries in the registration record, reactivation of registration record, reinstatement of name in the list of voters, inclusion of registration records in the Book of Voters, validation of registration of records, and updating of records of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

Castillano further urged the election officers to conduct information dissemination regarding the ongoing registration. —(FREEMAN)