We call on first-time registrants for the May 2022 national and local elections as well as those whose status have either been deactivated or just plain inactive to take advantage of the extended registration period.
The House of Representatives and the Senate this week unanimously approved a measure seeking to extend the voter registration deadline for another 30 days.
There is logic in extending the registration period from the original September 30 deadline to avoid widespread voter disenfranchisement, considering the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic which reined in the people’s mobility for months from the time voters registration began.
We share the hope of national legislators that the Comelec will use the one-month extension to ramp up voter registration and ensure that more people can vote next year and give more space to thousands whose registration was delayed because of the public health emergency.
The Comelec has exceeded by 1 million its target new registrants of 4.3 million for the whole registration period, surpassing its target number of new voter registrants for the May 9, 2022 national and local elections.
At the same time, Comelec is looking to have at least 60 million registered voters for the 2022 national polls.
The health crisis has been prolonged beyond the eye range of the authorities and many prospective voters, chiefly the first registrants and those who want to activate their inactive status or want to apply for change in voting precincts because of lockdowns, must not be disenfranchised.
This is why we encourage registrants to take advantage of the extension and go to the nearest Comelec registration areas in their barangays or towns to avail themselves of this political right conferred on them by the Constitution.
This right is intended to enable them to participate in the process of government to assure the elected leaders their powers are derived from the consent of the governed.
