CEBU, Philippines - Records obtained from the Commission on Elections show an increase in the number of registered voters in the first district this year as compared to records in 2010.
Provincial Comelec office records submitted to the Election and Barangay Affairs Department in Manila, show a total of 340,681 registered voters in the first district as of November 19, 2012 compare to 297,914 in 2010.
Six local government units comprise the first district, namely, Talisay City, Minglanilla, Naga City, San Fernando, Carcar City, and Sibonga.
Of the six, Talisay City has biggest number of registered voters with 111, 696 as of 2012 compared to 2010’s 94,156.
This is followed by Carcar City with 58,088; Naga City with 55,646, and Minglanilla with 50,816.
The towns of San Fernando has 37,770 while Sibonga has 26, 662.
According to Provincial Comelec supervisor Lionel Castillano, the cities and municipalities submitted records to his office after the end of the registration of voters last October 31, this after the list was cleansed from multiple registrants and deceased voters.
“The cleansing of the list of voters is going on to ensure that only qualified registered voters can exercise the right of suffrage in the 2013 midterm elections,” Castillano told The FREEMAN.
The Election Registration Board, composed of an election officer as chairman and two representatives from other government agencies, would either approve or disapprove an application for registration transfer.
Castillano said that in the latest ERB hearing, several applications for transfer were approved on the ground that the residence indicated on the voter’s address was accurate and many were new applicants.
The ERB also approves the deletion of deceased voters from the list of registered voters.
The ERB hearing is a regular procedure of the Commission on Elections to assess applications of voters registration for final approval or disapproval. the ERB reviews all entries in the voters registration forms to determine whether there are loopholes in the information given. (FREEMAN)