The Commission on Elections has set September 30 as the last day of voter registration application for the 2022 polls. On Monday, both the House of Representatives and the Senate approved the move to extend the registration for another 30 days.
As House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco contends, the registration should be extended to avoid massive voter disenfranchisement. He said there are voters out there, whose registration was delayed, due to the “extraordinary circumstance”, which is, the COVID-19 pandemic.
He went on to advocate that, in times of uncertainty, such as the pandemic, each and every office of the government is tasked to be flexible and alert, adding that the COMELEC is duty-bound to make sure that all eligible voters are able to register and exercise their right to suffrage.
While Speaker Velasco and the 192 other members of the House who voted in favor of House Bill 10261, which seeks to extend the period of registration, should be commended for their concern to protect the right to suffrage of the Filipino voter, they also need to look beyond COVID-19 as the reason why there are thousands of voters all over the country trying to beat the September 30 deadline.
Bacolod Election Officer, Atty. Kathrina Trinio- Caña, has pointed out that two years had passed since the 2019 elections and the COMELEC office is open daily to accept applications for registration. But she said only a few visited their office.
Is it really the restrictions because of COVID-19 pandemic that prevented this multitude of voters, who are now queuing at registration sites, from processing their papers days before the deadline? Or is it the not-so-admirable trait of leaving things for later until it is too late?
The COMELEC management committee (ManCom) will submit today its recommendation to the en banc whether to extend the registration or not. The COMELEC en banc will deliberate on it and will make its decision.
Until then, the COMELEC personnel nationwide, those who belong to the rank and file, will continue to work overtime and risk exposure to the COVID-19 virus just to accommodate as many registrants as they can. — NND
