BACOLOD CITY –– The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in this city will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays starting this week to accommodate the growing number of people wanting to register for 2022 elections.
“We are doing our best to accommodate as many voter registrants as we can,” said Bacolod Election Officer Kathrina Trinio Caña.
In March, the Comelec shortened voter registration hours to 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays because of the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Eight employees of the Bacolod Comelec office also tested positive for COVID-19 in late March, causing its temporary shutdown.
Since they are operating on a 50-percent workforce, the Bacolod Comelec only has eight employees reporting daily.
Long lines of people have been seen gathering along San Juan Street as early as 5:30 a.m. to register to vote.
Caña said the line is necessary to ensure social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
She said the Bacolod Comelec office could only accommodate 150 walk-in registrants and 50 with online appointments a day, plus senior citizens, persons with disability, pregnant women, frontliners, and indigenous peoples.
“Those beyond the 150, who are in the walk-in line, are told that they cannot be accommodated for the day but some refuse to leave,” she said.