Voters urged to register during Sundays

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday urged voters to take advantage of the Sunday operations of its field offices, either to register or check their registration status.

In her Twitter account, Comelec Commissioner Grace Padaca said the poll body might as well suspend its Sunday operations if only a few people would come to register.

Padaca said the offices of the election officers are open from Sunday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p. m.

The Comelec earlier decided to open its local offices during Sundays to accommodate voters who are busy during weekdays. 

The poll body is expecting around three million new voters – those who will turn 18 on or before election day – for 2016.

It has estimated that 9.6 million registered voters still do not have their biometric data taken by the Comelec.

It said voters without biometric data might be removed from the voter’s lists and could not participate in the 2016 elections.

Padaca said aside from applying for registration, voters could validate their registration status to check if their biometrics had been taken. 

The Comelec also accommodates voters applying for transfer and reactivation of registration.

The voter’s registration started on May 6 and will end on Oct. 31, 2015.