Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Garcia said the poll regulator is prepared to conduct the 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in December.
Garcia, in a GMA News report, also added that the Comelec is also ready to conduct four plebiscite.
In the report, Garcia explained that “elections are not interdependent and the conduct of plebiscites should push through in accordance with the laws that provide for it.”
According to the Comelec, four plebiscites are set to be conducted this year, including the ratification of the creation of Barangay New Canaan out of Barangay Pag-Asa in Alabel, Sarangani on August 20, 2022; ratification of conversion of Municipality of Calaca in Batangas into a component city on September 3, 2022; ratification of the division of Maguindanao Province into Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur on September 17; and ratification of the merging of 28 barangays and one remaining barangay in Ormoc City on October 8.
In a related development, the Comelec also resumed the issuance of voter’s certification for both local and overseas voters a week after a fire hit its main office in Intramuros, Manila.
Comelec acting spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said its Election Records and Statistics Department (ERSD) and the Office For Overseas Voting (OFOV) are now ready to accept applications for voter’s certification.
“The public is hereby informed that the issuance of voter’s certification at the Comelec main office resumes today, August 8. We are now accepting requests/applications for issuance of overseas voters’ certificates starting today,” he said in an advisory.
Applicants for local voter’s certification have been advised to proceed to the ERSD office located at the FEMII Building Extension, in Intramuros (back of Chowking).
They are required to present one valid ID and submit a photocopy, and pay the P75 fee, while an authorized representative must also submit an authorization letter and his/her own valid ID.
On the other hand, the voter’s certificate is free of charge for senior citizens, persons with disability (PWDs), members of Indigenous People (IP) and Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICC) and solo parents.
The poll body said local voter’s certification may alternatively be secured from the Office of the Election Officer (OEO) of the district/city/municipality, where the voter is registered.
For overseas voter certification, the application may be filed at the OFOV at the Comelec main office. They are required to bring the passport or any government-issued photo ID of the registered overseas voter and pay the PHP100 certification fee.
It added that an authorization letter is needed if the application of a registered overseas voter is filed by a representative.
A voter’s certification is a document that can serve as a temporary voter’s ID upon the request of the registered voter. It is valid for a period for one year from the date of its issuance.
