Comelec delists 4 million voters

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has delisted some four million voters for failing to vote in two consecutive polls in 2007 – the local and national elections in May and the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls in October.

According to Teofisto Elnas, director of Comelec’s Election and Barangay Affairs Department, the delisting also included those who have already died.

The Comelec has also recorded some one million new registrants or first-time voters since the registration was resumed last Feb. 12. It will end on Oct. 30 for local voters and Aug. 30 for overseas absentee voters.

Elnas said the Comelec might be able to register only around 48 million voters, which is two million short of the 50-million target for the May 2010 elections.

In the 2007 polls, there were some 45 million registered voters.

“At present, it’s not yet that many, maybe because of our mentality to do things at the last minute. But we hope they will start coming out for registration so that we can avoid overcrowding in our election offices,” he noted.

But Comelec Chairman Jose Melo is confident that more voters will register in the coming months.

Melo said that since next year’s polls would be automated, more voters would likely be encouraged to register out of curiosity for the new technology.

The Comelec is now intensifying its education campaign to encourage those qualified to vote to register.

The poll body is also coordinating with colleges and universities so it can put up registration offices in school campuses, while satellite registration is also being carried out in populated communities. –Sheila Crisostomo, Philippine Star