Voters’ registration INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has already recorded over 58 million registered voters for the 2022 polls as of January or eight months before the end of voter registration, a poll official said on Thursday.
“As of January ERB (Election Registration Board) hearing, nasa 58,204,224 ang registered voters natin (we have 58,204,224 registered voters),” Comelec Deputy Executive Director for Operations Teopisto Elnas said during a hearing of the Senate committee on electoral reforms. This figure includes registered voters in previous elections whose records have remained in Comelec data.
The voter registration will end on September 30.
The Comelec is targeting to have 4 million new voter registrants before the deadline. Of this number, a total of 1.3 million have already registered, while the records of 1.6 million voters from the Sangguniang Kabataan elections would be extracted and added to the Comelec database subject to the approval of the city and municipal ERBs, according to Elnas.
“So may mga one million na lang ang tatargetin natin (we just have one million left in the target) up to the end of registration,” he added.
But Senator Imee Marcos, chairperson of the committee, as well as Senator Francis Pangilinan questioned this “working balance” being considered by the Comelec as they pointed out that there are more Filipino adults who should register for the upcoming polls.
Data revealed by the Comelec during the hearing showed that there will be 73 million Filipinos who will be aged 18 and above by 2022, citing the projection of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Pangilinan pointed out that with the 58 million currently registered voters, this means there are 15 million Filipinos who have yet to be included in the count of participants for next year’s elections.
“Bakit ganun lang ang halaga kung ang estima nga natin ay 15 million ang hindi pa rehistrado (Why is the target just like that if our estimate is 15 million people have yet to register)? Why are we just targeting one million?” Pangilinan said.
Marcos asked the same question to the poll body.
“Following on Sen. Pangilinan’s question and information that in fact there is a 15 million balance, bakit ‘yung working balance natin ngayon sa Comelec ay ‘yung sinabi ni director Elnas na 4.1 million lamang? Maliit ‘yun kaysa sa 15 [million],” Marcos said.
In response, Elnas said the 4 million target only includes youth who will be 18 years old by 2022.
Pangilinan then asked the Comelec to submit to the committee its target for total voter registration, considering PSA’s projection of 73 million Filipino adults by next year.
Commissioner Marlon Casquejo said he will also raise the matter to the Comelec en banc.
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