Comelec extends registration hours

In anticipation of last-minute registrants, the Commission on Elections will be extending by at least four hours the daily voters' registration being conducted across the country until the end of the month. "We are aware that a lot of Filipinos choose to register at the last minute. So in order to accommodate them and also address the growing crowds at our field offices as we near the registration deadline, the Comelec en banc has ordered the extension of office hours in all registration centers nationwide," said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez. Jimenez said that starting October 22 until October 30, registration hours in Comelec field offices will be open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Registration on October 31, the last day for registration, will be open until 12 midnight. Jimenez was quick to clarify, however, that they are only extending the registration hours, not the registration days. "We need the remaining time this year to finalize the list of voters so that we can finalize also our allocation, if we cannot finalize out allocations on time, we might have shortages on election day and that is something we want to avoid," he told reporters. For this purpose, Jimenez said they are also fielding 62 new data capturing machines used in the registration process. “Nagkaroon ng sobrang daming dating ng bagong rehistro (There was an influx of new registrants), in order to accommodate the overflow, we will be fielding 62 new data capturing machines throughout various places in Metro Manila," he said. Jimenez said these machines will definitely boost the number of registered voters listed with the poll body. "What you need to really appreciate I guess is the impact of these new machines. The reason why we are moving really slowly is isang makina o dalawa lang sa isang place (there is only one or two machines in one place)," he said. Earlier, the Comelec had also opened the registration for two Sundays in areas greatly affected by typhoons “Ondoy" and “Pepeng." "Those that were affected by the floods will have Sundays but other places outside Luzon will not have registration day on Sunday," said Jimenez. The offices of the elections officers opened last October 18 and will also be open on October 25 including those in Regions I, II, III, IV-A, V, CAR, and NCR. The Comelec had also earlier allotted last Friday, October 16, as a special registration day for persons with disabilities in six cities, specifically Cagayan De Oro City, Davao City, Cabanatuan City, Zambonga City, IloIlo City, and San Fernando City in Pampanga. Meanwhile, the poll body spokesman said they are also looking into reports that some Comelec field offices have not been doing their work properly. "We’ve been receiving reports of this, we’re trying to figure out on a case to case basis. Obviously, bawat isang lugar mayroon siyang sariling set of challenges na kung minsan (every place will have their own set of challenges which would sometimes) lead them to open late or sometimes not open at all," he said. Figures from the poll body indicate that as of July 2009, there are a total of 45,638,243 registered voters for the 2010 elections. In the 2007 elections, there were 45,029,443 registered voters