Comelec successfully launches ‘register anywhere program’ in Cebu

A Comelec officer processed the registration of a college student during the launch of register anywhere program on Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the USC Talamban Campus. CDN Digital photo/Niña Mae Oliverio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) successfully launched the register anywhere program (RAP) and voter education on Tuesday, February 27.

The Comelec national office, in coordination with the regional office, spearheaded the event.

The agency has partnered with two Cebu universities for the event: the University of San Carlos (USC) in Talamban for Feb. 27 and the Cebu Doctors’ University in Mandaue City for Feb. 28.

On Tuesday, the Education and Information Department of the Comelec national office led the lecture regarding the voting process, election laws, and other topics related to educating students about voting.

READ: Comelec Cebu partners with 2 universities for ‘Register Anywhere Program’

Nearly 500 USC students attended the voter’s education.

The Comelec targets the Senior High School students and first year college students aged 17 above, who, most of them are not yet registered, to take part in the voter’s education.

Meanwhile, there were also college students, who were able to register through the RAP which took place in the School of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design building in the same campus.

READ: Comelec: Voter’s certification for free starting Feb. 12

Importance of registering to vote

First-year college students Charles Vincent Montero, 18, Elgen Mar Arinasa, 18, Shawn Clifford Veloso, 20, and Nil Benedict Alvarez, 18 were among those college students who successfully completed their registration during the RAP.

Veloso, a Computer Science student, found the event “more convenient” for the students in registering.

Veloso, who hails from Tacloban City in Leyte, also added that the event made the registration “easier and accessible” to the would-be first time voters like him.

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Meanwhile, Montero also found the event easier for students like him to register. He also acknowledged the Comelec officers for accommodating them throughout the registration process.

Another Computer Science student, Arinasa, said that as a youth, registering was important because he could get to choose who to vote for and “fit” for the position.

“For you to be able to vote, means like you’re trying to do something for the country,” Arinasa.

The same sentiments were shared by some first-year Industrial Engineering students Ericka Salas, 18, and Adrian Auman, 18.

“It’s easy for us to register kay naa na here sa school,” Salas said.

(It’s easy for us to register because it is here in the school.)

Meanwhile, Auman said that registering was “very important” for them to exercise their “right to vote.”

“Each vote has an effect in this country and the local politics,” Auman said.

According to the students, the registration process only took more or less 10 minutes.

READ: Elections 2025: Guide on Voters Registration

Register anywhere program

Comelec Cebu Spokesperson Omar Sharif Mamalinta said in an interview with reporters that the Comelec caters all types of application for RAP: new registrants, transfer within or other cities and municipalities, reactivation and the like.

The RAP is the program initiated by the Comelec to allow the registration of voters, transfer of registration, and correction of registration data without having to visit the designated Comelec offices.

The voter’s education and RAP aim to increase the number of registered voters across the country, Mamalinta said.

As of Monday, February 26, the total number of applications for registration in Central Visayas, which started on February 12 was 4,284.

Of the number, Cebu Province recorded 2,860, followed by Negros Oriental with 887, then Bohol with 456, and Siquijor with 81 applications.

The Comelec applies the same procedure when registering applicants.

Lawyer Ann Janette Chua Hu Lamban, election officer of Lapu-Lapu City, said the applicants had to present their IDs, then they would be interviewed by election officers to identify the type of application they would apply for.

Lamban added that the Comelec would accept registrants whose hometown was located outside Cebu City.

“The application is being processed here (in Cebu for those who reside outside Cebu) and that will be approved in their respective hometown,” Lamban said.