MANILA – To allow all registered Filipino voters to exercise their right of suffrage, President Benigno Aquino has signed Proclamation No. 1254, declaring May 9, 2016 as a special public holiday throughout the country.
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. on Wednesday said the proclamation was signed on Monday “to enable the entire citizenry to participate in the national elections and “to properly exercise their right of suffrage.”
“So at least, there will be no excuse not to vote. Every one of us should vote,” Coloma said in an interview with Radyo ng Bayan.
Coloma also urged the voting public to choose the best candidates who can exercise the right leadership to continue the economic reforms that the country has achieved in the last six years.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said 54.4 million Filipinos have registered for the May 9 national and local elections, over two million higher compared to the figures registered in 2013 mid-term polls.