Comelec resumes voter registration

MANILA, Philippines -  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is resuming the registration of voters and validation of registration records to allow more Filipinos to participate in the 2013 elections.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body is set to start tomorrow the continuing registration and validation of registration records for all those qualified to vote.

Jimenez urged all qualified voters to register as early as the first day and not to wait for the Oct. 31, 2012 deadline.

Comelec records showed that there were about 50,257,540 registered voters as of the October 2010 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

“Any Filipino citizen who is at least 18 years of age, a resident of the Philippines for at least one year, and in the place where he intends to vote for at least six months immediately preceding the election, may now file their application for registration,” Jimenez said.

In the 2010 elections, Ang Kabataan party-list sought the help of the Supreme Court to prompt the poll body to extend the registration period beyond the original October 31, 2009 deadline to accommodate the large number of interested applicants then.

Jimenez said the continuing registration would be done using the biometrics technology or automated photograph, fingerprint and signature-taking system.

He said applications for registration, transfer of registration records, change/correction of entries in the registration records, reactivation of registration records, and inclusion of registration records/reinstatement of name in the list of voters, must be personally filed.

Applicants should bring any valid identification card when they register. A community tax certificate (cedula) or certification from the barangay will not be honored as valid identification document.

Jimenez said the Office of the Election Officer of the city or municipality where the applicant resides would receive applications from Monday to Saturday, including holidays, during regular office hours from 8 a..m to 5 p.m.