Comelec mulls extension of voter registration in Lando-hit areas

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is studying the possibility of extending the registration of voters for the May 2016 elections in areas devastated by Typhoon Lando.

Voter registration, which started on May 6, 2014, is supposed to end on Oct. 31.

“We will see whether it merits a special extension only for regions that were affected,” Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista told a press briefing yesterday.

Bautista said they asked the regional election directors in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon to come up with a situation report, including if there are poll equipment and data damaged by the typhoon.

“By next week (we will decide). We have to get feedback from the election directors,” he said.

Local Comelec offices have been operating seven days a week since Oct. 17 to accommodate new registrants and those applying for deactivation and transfer of registration and have their biometrics taken.

Business as usual

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said  no company had shut down nor workers displaced due to the  typhoon.

Baldoz directed the regional offices of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to assess the situation in the aftermath of Lando.

Henry John Jalbuena, DOLE Cordillera Administrative Region director, said no workers were displaced in the region as of yesterday, but they are validating reports that three DOLE-assisted livelihood projects in Baguio City and two in Kalinga were damaged.

DOLE regional director Ana Dione said 7,000 workers’ families in Central Luzon  need assistance. The regional office in the Bicol Region reported that 61 workers’ families there need relief aid.

Baldoz said the DOLE is coordinating with other agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, the Interior and Local Government and Social Welfare and Development as well as local government units in gathering information on the effects of the typhoon on workers.

As this developed, the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno said the calamity relief package announced by the Social Security System is not enough to assist workers affected by the typhoon. – With Mayen Jaymalin