THE Commission on Elections is preparing to register at least six million new voters for the barangay and youth council elections on October 31, bringing to more than 60 million the number of registered Filipino voters.
Of the six million expected registrants, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said two million are expected to be 18 years old and older while the remaining four million will be 15 to 17 year olds.
“Those are just the numbers on how many we expect to apply for registration. But in practice, they may not all sign up,” Jimenez said, adding that there are already 54.363-million registered voters, as of the last elections.
Jimenez reiterated that applicants for voter registration may personally file their applications for registration at their respective city or municipal offices daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. of July 15 to 30, in accordance with Comelec Resolution No. 10148.
The registration is open to first-time voters—both in regular and SK polls— as well as those who have been deactivated for failing to participate in at least two consecutive elections.
Registrants for barangay elections must be at least 18 years old by the time of the elections and residing in the barangay where they intend to vote for at least six months by election day.
SK elections will coincide with the barangay polls. Around 42,000 barangays will be holding SK elections and 10 positions are up for grabs per barangay, including SK chairman.
The SK elections were originally scheduled for October 2013 but were postponed following calls for the SK Reform Act which was signed into law last January.
The SK Reform Act has an anti-political dynasty provision and raised the age requirement from 15 to 17 to 18 to 24 to allow youth officials to legally enter contracts and be held liable.
SK officials will also be required to undergo leadership training to learn about good government practices and fiscal transparency.
The law also mandates the creation of the Local Youth Development Council, which will ensure the participation of youth organizations from different communities.