The Supreme Court has directed the Commission on Elections to answer the petition filed by a party-list lawmaker seeking to compel the poll body to reopen the registration of voters for the 2016 elections.
SC spokesman Theodore Te disclosed that the high court gave the Comelec 10 days to answer the petition filed by Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon and his group.
“The Court directed respondent Commission on Elections to comment on the petition for certiorari and mandamus with application for preliminary mandatory injunction and/or temporary restraining order within a non-extendible period of 10 days from notice of resolution,” the high court said, in a resolution adopted during its regular en banc session on Tuesday.
In its petition, the Kabataan Party-list sought the nullification of Comelec Resolution No. 99853 dated Feb. 19, 2014 and Resolution No. 9981 dated Aug. 18, 2015, both of which fix the deadline of application of registration of voters on Oct. 31, 2015, which is more than two months earlier than what Republic Act 8189 or the Voter’s Registration Act of 1996 provides.
The petitioner noted that the Voter’s Registration Act clearly states that the personal filing of application of registration of voters shall be prohibited only during 120 days before a regular election and 90 days before a special election.
Because of this, the petitioner asserted that the deadline of application of registration of voters should still be on Jan. 8, 2016 and not on Oct. 31, 2015, which is 69 days earlier than is prescribed by the statute.
The petitioner was joined by Anakbayan Vencer Crisostomo and National Union of Student of the Philippines president Sarah Jane Elago, national president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines in the petition.
Petitioners cited aggravating circumstances to justify the extension of the registration period, which already lasted for a year-and a-half.
For instance, they cited the latest admission of the poll body that some three million voters stand to be delisted, as they still have no biometrics data a few days before the deadline.
“An aggravating factor in this issue is the respondent’s implementation of the ‘No Bio, No Boto’ policy, which automatically delists registered voters who fail to have their biometrics data captured, pursuant to Republic Act No. 10367 or the Mandatory Biometrics Voter Registration Act,” the petitioners said.
“With the very high volume of first-time registrants and voters in the May 9, 2016 elections, the October 31, 2015 deadline set by respondent for the filing of application of registration of voters provides is utterly insufficient to accommodate first-time youth registrants, voters without biometrics, and voters highly eager to participate in the May 9, 2016 elections,” they argued.
Another reason cited by petitioners was the suspension of the registration for voters last October 12 to 16 to give way to the scheduled filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) of national and local candidates.