MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has suspended the voter registration until March 31 amid the growing number of cases of the 2019 coronavirus disease or COVID-19 in the country.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez announced on Monday that the suspension will take effect nationwide starting on Tuesday, March 10.
“As a response to the growing threat to public health posed by #COVID19, #VoterReg2020 has been suspended by the @COMELEC, until the 31st of March 2020,” Jimenez said in a statement.
“The public is advised to take all necessary precaution to limit their exposure to the possibility of COVID-19 infection,” he added.
The voter registration for the 2022 national elections started last January and was originally set to run until Sept. 30, 2021.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported 10 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country; seven of which are confined, two have recovered and one died.
The department has also raised Code Red Sublevel 1 over the weekend after it confirmed the country’s first local transmission of the disease.
The increasing number of cases prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare a state of public health emergency.