3 M new voters fail to register due to lack of Comelec forms

About three million new voters nationwide were not able to register on the last day of the list-up the other day because the Commission on Elections (Comelec) failed to print enough forms.

Dec. 26 was the deadline for the registration of new voters, who will elect members of the Sangguniang Kabataan on May 6 and barangay officials on May 13.

A Comelec official, who sought anonymity, said only eight million forms were printed while 11 million new voters trooped to the various Comelec offices to register.

The official blamed Comelec Commissioner Luzviminda Tancangco for the fiasco, accusing her of sitting on a resolution which ordered the printing of an additional three million registration forms.

Comelec Executive Director Mamasapunod Aguam told reporters lack of forms prevented the registration of new voters in Western Visayas, two towns in Central Visayas, the entire North Cotabato, and the municipality of Sultan Dimagundol in Lanao del Sur.

Aguam said Comelec officials in those places were ordered to list the names of registrants who were within the 30-meter radius of poll offices as of 5 p.m. yesterday.

They will be asked to return later to fill up registration forms so they can be formally registered to allow them to vote in the SK and barangay elections, he added.

In Metro Manila, enough forms were printed but many registrants in Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, and Pasig failed to beat the 5 p.m. deadline the other day.

Under the law, registrants within a 30-meter radius of Comelec offices may "formalize" their registration later if they were not able fill up forms before 5 p.m.

Election officers in each of the 1,610 Comelec offices nationwide are required to list the names of registrants and tell them to return after the New Year to fill up registration forms.

Director Mila Desamito, officer-in-charge of the Comelec’s education and information department, said the Election Registration Board will meet next month to collate data from all over the country before they can determine the number of new voters that were able to register.

Of the 11 million new voters, six million 18 - 21 year olds will vote in the barangay elections and five million between the ages of 15 and 17 will choose SK members.