Last Tuesday’s long lines of applicants for voters’ registration at the Cebu City Commission on Elections (Comelec) was a welcome surprise.
Election officers are more used to seeing long lines a few days before the deadline.
But then it was the Comelec itself that encouraged politicians to bus in supporters (hakot) to their office a week before the opening registration.
Cebu City Comelec north district officer Marchel Sarno was overheard saying that the best time to sign up was two months after the opening registration day. That’s when the initial excitement has died down and many people are more preoccupied with either work or school.
At the time, Sarno said, the lines would be shorter if there’s one at all and people can go at their leisure to finish registration. The Comelec even thought of satellite registration in the barangays but only if they would be assured of enough registrants by the barangay officials otherwise it would be waste of manpower and resources.
This is all well and good.
But again, the Comelec held special voters’ registration and actual voting for seniors and persons with disabilities in the comfort and convenience of major malls last year.
So why not do it on a more regular basis?
We point to the NBI’s practical solution to divert the long lines of job applicants from their office to satellite desks in malls across the country to declog the volume of people wanting to secure clearance for their resumes.
Other government agencies took their cue from the NBI like the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). They too are setting up desks in malls to service claim applicants.
Aside from being convenient, these arrangements are a win-win for malls, which benefit from more potential customers.
Could the Comelec now take a serious look at expanding its presence to malls, which are the new civic centers of modern life?
This would be performing a real public service and speed up registration of new and old voters in urban centers.
Comelec could even try asking local governments to rent space in malls to service voters on registration days and even on Election Day itself.
It’s about time that elections are not just honest, speedy and accurate but also accessible, convenient and comfortable for voters.