(INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA)
MANILA, Philippines — The registration of voters will resume by June or July, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner George Garcia said Monday.
“Sa darating na June or July, magsisimula na muli ang ating registration of voters,” Garcia said in a press briefing.
(This coming June or July, we will resume with the registration of voters.)
“Again, du’n sa mga hindi nakapag-rehistro ng kanilang registration, pinapaalala natin, abangan niyo po ‘yung continuing registration of voters natin na gagawin ngayong June or at least by first week of July ng taon na ito,” he added.
(We are reminding qualified individuals who haven’t registered yet to look forward to the resumption of registration of voters this June or at least by the first week of July this year.)
The barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections are slated for December.
Meanwhile, Garcia likewise denied a circulating statement that said that the Comelec has already used up the budget for the barangay elections.
“Gusto ko lang sabihin sa inyo na hindi po totoo ‘yun. Wala pang nabibigay sa aming budget para sa barangay elections. Katatapos lang ng national election. Bakit naman po bibigyan kaagad kami ng budget para sa barangay?” he pointed out.
(I would like to tell you that this is not true. No budget has been given to us for barangay elections. The national elections have just concluded. Why would they give us a budget for barangay elections already?)
“You can always verify with [the Department of Budget and Management] that the budget for the barangay election of 2022 supposedly by December is still intact,” Garcia continued.
Based on Comelec’s data, there were 65.8 million registered Filipinos in the country in the May 9 elections.