Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Wednesday announced that all Comelec offices would be open on October 26, a regular holiday.
He made the announcement in his official twitter account.
President Benigno Aquino III had earlier issued Proclamation No. 488 which declared October 26, 2012 a regular holiday throughout the nation in observance of Eidul Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice, one of the greatest feasts of Islam.
“I’m appealing to our people not to wait until the 31st… would you please see us now?” Brillantes said in a later press conference.
The move was part of the poll body’s intensified drive for Filipinos to exercise their right to suffrage by registering with the Comelec. There are only seven days left before the October 31 deadline for new registrations, reactivation of deactivated registrations, and re-validation and transfer.
“The deadline as we have announced 16 months ago will be Oct. 31, 2012 at 5 p.m. There will be no extension,” Brillantes said in earlier tweets.
Brillantes added that the Comelec offices would also be open until Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.