The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has temporarily suspended the registration of new voters for the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in Eastern Visayas following the onslaught of Typhoon Tino, even as applications continue to rise in other parts of the country.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the suspension initially covered Tacloban City, where local government offices halted operations due to severe weather, but was later expanded to include the entire Region 8.
“Una naming sinuspend sa Tacloban City dahil nag-suspend ang city government ng kanilang pasok. Ginawa naming buong Region 8 na rin para masiguro ang kaligtasan ng lahat,” Garcia said.
He added that local election offices in the region are currently conducting an inventory and assessing whether any Comelec equipment was damaged by the heavy rains. Registration will resume once the affected areas are declared safe.
Meanwhile, voter registration in other regions remains ongoing, with the Comelec reporting a strong turnout nationwide. From October 20 to 30, the poll body received a total of 240,687 applications for the November 2026 BSKE.
Of the total number, 209,097 applied for the barangay elections and 31,590 for the Sangguniang Kabataan polls. There were 62,959 applications from new regular voters aged 18 and above, 86,219 transfers from other cities or municipalities, 17,045 transfers within the same locality, and 12,120 reactivations.
For SK voters aged 15 to 17, the Comelec recorded 30,989 new registrations, 414 transfers from other cities or municipalities, 55 transfers within the same city or municipality, and 132 corrections of entries.
Comelec data also showed that as of October 30, 127,980 of the applicants were female and 112,707 were male.
The seven-month registration period, which began on October 20, 2025, will continue until May 18, 2026, allowing more qualified Filipinos to register for the upcoming barangay and youth elections.
