Comelec urges public to report deceased relatives, friends

FILE: COMELEC REMINDS CANDIDATES TO SUBMIT SOCE. Commission on Elections (Comelec) Spokesperson James Jimenez reminds all candidates in the recently concluded mid-term polls to submit their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCEs), during the press briefing held at the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) headquarters, Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City on Wednesday (May 15, 2019). Under the Omnibus Rules on Campaign Finance, failure to submit SOCEs within six months from proclamation will stop winning candidates from assuming the duties of the post he/she had won. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is urging the public to report their deceased relatives or friends, who might have still been listed as registered voters.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez noted that it would be accurate if such information would come from the family or friends of the voter who has passed away.

“We would like to reach out to everyone, if you have deceased relatives or friends, please try to coordinate with local offices of the Comelec so their names can be removed from the voters’ list,” he said in an interview on Thursday.

“It is one of the reasons why come Election Day, the deceased grandfather, grandmother, or siblings are still there.

With this, we can already start cleansing our list,” he added.

Jimenez said that those who will report must provide proof of the death of their relatives or friends.

On the other hand, he noted that there were instances when record of deaths are unknown to the Local Civil Registrar, when a person dies in another area.

“For example, a voter is registered in Quezon City but died in Bohol, it will be at the Bohol Civil Registry that will issue his death certificate. It will then not reflect in the Quezon City Civil Registry,” the Comelec official said.

Republic Act 8189 or the Voter’s Registration Act of 1996 states that registration records of those who have died, as certified by the Local Civil Registrar, shall be cancelled.

The Local Civil Registrar will be submitting each month a certified list of persons, who died during the previous month, to the Election Officer of the city/municipality, where the dead voters are registered.

Currently, the poll body is conducting a two-month voter registration, which started on Thursday and will run until September 30, in connection with the May 2020 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.