Voter’s registration now orderly after changes

The second day of voters registration was more orderly in Cebu and Mandaue cities.

Changes were made in the work flow.

In Cebu City, inquiries and filling out of forms was done in Plaza Independencia. The capturing of voter’s biometric data was done in the Comelec offices.

In Mandaue City, the listing of Barangay Election and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) voters was done separately.

Genesa Belenia, 37, said she had no problem in her registration in contrast to the chaotic first day operation.

“We aren’t as jampacked now. We have benches to sit on and it’s not as hot because there are trees,” she said in Cebuano.

The changes in the registration flow came after Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama visited the area on Monday afternoon and saw the unruly operation on the first day.

“The answer to congestion is dispersal,” Rama said.

One of the problems identified last Monday was the lack of cameras and computers to capture biometric data in the Comelec offices.

Last Monday, a glass wall in the Comelec office was broken because of crowding and the pressure of people wanting to register for the Barangay and SK polls.

The south and north district Comelec offices each has two stations to capture biometric data and can accommodate up to 400 registrants in a day.

But according to south district election officer Edwin Cadungog, the Comelec offices need at least 20 capturing devices to speed up the work.

Rama said he would call Comelec Manila to ask for more equipment and appeal to extend registration hours in Cebu City.

Registration started last Monday and will end on July 31.

Comelec offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. including weekends.

Mandaue list-up

In Mandaue City, the listing of voters for the Barangay Election was done in tents outside the Mandaue City Sports Center.

Youth registrants for the SK election was done inside the sports center.

Election Officer Anna Fleur Gujilde said the presence of policemen made crowd control easier.

On the first day of registration, they were able to register, 1,100 applicants. 300 of them are for the barangay elections while 800 of them are for SK elections.