Comelec starts voters’ registration in ARMM

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said that they have started on Monday the 10-day voters’ registration period for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

He told Radyo Inquirer 990AM over an interview that they have finished deploying their registration teams and machines and have started registration at 8 a.m. save for remote islands which will start listing voters a bit later within the day.

Brillantes said that he did not see the possibility of an extension for registrants who might not be in the area during the registration period.

“We want to avoid extensions. Ang target naming ay ilagay sa tamang numero ang legitimate registrants dito sa ARMM. (Our target is to correct the number of legitimate registrants here in ARMM.) We’re not thinking of extending the period of 10 days and we don’t intend to put up satellites. Kapag ginawa namin yun [for Metro Manila] kailangan rin naming maglagay sa Cebu, Davao and we cannot accommodate that (If we do that [for Metro Manila] we also have to do that in Cebu, Davao and we cannot accommodate that),” he said, pointing out that an earlier list pegging the number of ARMM voters at 1.7 million will likely decrease.

“I think it will go down to a reasonable figure,” said Brillantes, adding that biometric machines will help Comelec officers catch double registrants and prevent “hakot (hoarding) systems”.

He said that he has also issued warnings to politicians who may be planning to disrupt the registration, vowing to halt registration and ensure that “wala nang boboto sa kanila. Hindi na sila magiging mayor dahil ititigil na namin ang registration. (No one will vote for them. They won’t become the mayor because we will end the registration.)”

“Ang advice naming sa kanila, lumayo na lang sila at huwag nang makialam. Sabihan nila ang mga botante na magregister pero huwag na silang sumama, maghakot ng tao o magbayad ng registrants. (Our advice for them is to stay away and not meddle. They should tell voters to register but they should not accompany them, they should not hoard voters or pay registrants.)”

Registration will run from July 9 to 18, including Saturday and Sunday.

For more of the interview, listen to Radyo Inquirer 990AM.