Long queues in Comelec off-site registration centers

Hundreds trooped to the Ayala Activity Center where an off-site voter registration center was placed by the Commission on Elections. Yesterday was the last day for the registration of voters.
CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA

LONG queues marked the last day for the registration of new voters, many of them going to the off-site registration centers that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) set up in malls.

Most of them said it was hard to find time to register as they were working or otherwise had other personal concerns.

“Na-busy sad sa kadaghan buhatonon maong wala sad kalugar (I was busy with many things and didn’t have the chance),” said Denmark Encontro, who, together with his sister, did not mind standing for hours just to be registered voter of the north district of Cebu City.

Rose Pepito, 25, also rushed to the mall yesterday.

“Nag-work man gud ko ug lisod kaayo. Karon pako nakahibaw nga last day diay today (Saturday),” said Pepito.

(I am working and it is difficult with my working schedule. I just knew that today was the last day).

Pepito said she just could not miss the chance to take part in the midterm election next year and the opportunity to choose Cebu and country’s leaders.

The Comelec, in a statement, announced that there will be no extension of the voter registration.

The electoral office started accepting applications for voter’s registration, transfer, reactivation, correction and reinstatement of their records in the list of voters since July 2.

Comelec Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor, lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano thanked the mall management that provided spaces for the Comelec satellite registration that accommodated more registrants.

“The usual problema namo kay dili ma-accommodate ang tanan but at least convenient para sa ilaha ug dili init ang lugar,”” he said.

(Our usual problem is that we could not accommodate everyone but at least it is more convenient).

Castillano targets at least three million registered voters.

“Sa new voters, ma hit man gyod ta na. Ang nakanindot man gud karon kay ang mga kadtong  na rehistro sa SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) kay dili naman lang sila kailangan magparehistro kay once they turn 18 kay automatic i-include na as regular voters (As for the new voters, we can hit the target. What is the good thing about it today is that those who have registered in SK don’t have to register again because once they turn 18, they will be automatically included as regular voters),” said Castillano.

He said there were 1,081,008 SK registrants who participated in the May SK election.

As of Sept. 22, the Comelec provincial office was able to process 154,960 applications. Of the number, 63,281 are new registrants.

During the May 2016 presidential election, the Comelec Cebu recorded a total of 2,722,288 voters in the province who participated in the election.