Ex-poll watchdog chair bucks calls to postpone voter registration

FILE: Two applicants fill up the Commission on Election form during the resumption of the system of continuing registration of voters at the local Comelec in Pasay City on Tuesday (September 1, 2020). (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – A former official of an election watchdog on Thursday opposed calls of local government units in Metro Manila to postpone the ongoing voter registration until the region has been declared under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

“No (to the postponement of voter registration). Registration is important, the earlier the better. Who knows when MGCQ will be. Besides there’s no guarantee when coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is gone,” Henrietta de Villa, former national chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said in a statement.

De Villa, former Philippine ambassador to the Vatican, added that delaying the registration might trigger the “anxiety that elections might be postponed.”

She said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has implemented health safety measures in registration centers.

“Comelec has in place registration safeguards, even online mode. PPCRV has, as part of its voter’s education, online promo for registration,” de Villa added.

Among the measures being implemented is the “no face mask, no face shield, no registration.”

Voter registration resumed on Tuesday in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) or MGCQ and will run until Sept. 30, 2021.

Applications may be submitted from 8 a.

m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, at the Office of the Election Officer (OEO).

Under Republic Act 10367, the collection of biometrics data from voter applicants is mandatory, which means they need to personally appear at the Comelec offices, making it impossible for the poll body to hold online voter registration activities.

Meanwhile, the PPCRV and the Rotary Club of Makati recently launched a partnership to promote voter registration and education for the 2022 National and Local Elections.

The memorandum of agreement was signed on September 1, which coincided with the resumption of the voter registration period.

In a statement, the proponents of the campaign aim to reach a greater number of voters, particularly the youth and first-time voters.