Thousands flock to Cebu City mall for voter registration

Map of Cebu City.

CEBU CITY – Thousands have trooped to a mall in Cebu City to register to vote in the 2022 elections.

According to Cebu City North District Comelec Officer Chauncey Boholst, they only have about 200 people lining up in the past few months. These past days, more than 900 are listed as registrants per day.

“In fact yesterday, we were able to process 968 applicants,” Boholst told reporters in an interview. They expect about the same numbers tomorrow as they can accommodate up to 1,000 applicants per day.

With the extension of the voter registration to October 31, Boholst is asking people not to wait for the next deadline.

Data from Provincial Elections Supervisor Lionell Castillano showed over 3.1 million registered voters in the entire Cebu province, including its independent cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue.

Since the start of the registration from July 19 to September 28, a total of 116,893 new voters will be added to the 3.1 registered voters in Cebu, bringing the total to more than 3.2 million.

On the other hand, Cebu City Comelec Office is preparing to fill the Certificates of Candidacies (COCs) from October 1 to 10.

The roads in front of their office will be closed to traffic to accommodate tents and road barriers.

There will also be isolation booths and spaces intended as a waiting lounge for candidates. Boholst said they discourage the candidates from bringing their supporters or escorts.

Each candidate is only allowed not more than three minutes inside the Cebu City Comelec office to process their COCs.