Voter registration for the 2022 national elections was extended for another three weeks starting October 11 to 30, 2021, Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez said, an announcement welcomed by Malacañang and both chambers of Congress.
Jimenez said the Comelec en banc unanimously approved the extension of voter registration after the filing of certificate of candidacy on October 1 to 8.
Registration would resume on October 11, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
However, there will be no registrations on Saturdays except for October 30, the last day of voter registration.
Jimenez said that all registration services would be offered, including transfer of voter registration and reactivation.
Overseas voter registration is also extended for two weeks, from October 1 to 14.
Most of the registration will still be conducted in Comelec offices, but there are still mall registration sites, adding online reactivation still an option, he said.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the poll’s decision was a positive development amid the pandemic.
“There is ample time given, we call on all eligible voters, especially the youth, to register early, and not resort to last-minute registration, while adhering to minimum public health standards. Let us all exercise our right of suffrage,” Roque said.
More than 61 million new and returning voters had registered, as of August, compared to over 61.8 million who cast their votes in the 2019 national and local elections.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco welcomed the decision of Comelec to extend the voter registration period.
“We thank the Comelec for seeing the wisdom of extending the voter registration to allow more Filipinos to exercise their right of suffrage, which is one of the most important rights and responsibilities we have as citizens of the Philippines,” Velasco said.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, the main sponsor of the counterpart measure in the Upper Chamber, said they would adopt the House version of the bill.
This will allow the legislature to do away with the bicameral conference committee meeting as the final version will be sent straight to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature.