ILOILO City – To ease congestion in schools traditionally used as voting centers and to offer a more comfortable voting experience, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Central Office has approved the designation of four malls in this city as official voting centers for the May 2025 national and local elections.
Iloilo City Election Officer IV, Atty. Pinky Jevini Tentativa, announced the decision during a media briefing on Tuesday, November 5. The Comelec Central Office granted the approval on October 16.
The designated malls are Robinsons Place Iloilo, Robinsons Place Jaro, and SM City Iloilo, and Festive Walk Mall.
Each mall will cater to registered voters from specific nearby barangays:
* Robinsons Place Iloilo – barangays Magsaysay, Osmeña, and San Jose (City Proper)
* Robinsons Jaro – Barangay San Vicente (Jaro district)
* SM City Iloilo – Barangay Taft North (Mandurriao)
* Festive Walk Mall – Barangay Airport (Mandurriao)
“Only registered voters of the barangay approved by the Comelec Main Office can vote in the designated mall for that barangay,” Tentativa clarified, noting the setup aims to simplify the voting process for these communities.
Before securing approval from the Central Office, Comelec Iloilo City conducted public consultations to gauge voter sentiment, which Tentativa reported as overwhelmingly positive. Voters expressed openness to casting their ballots in malls.
Aside from Iloilo City, Comelec-6 director Atty. Dennis Ausan revealed that the Central Office has also approved mall voting for one mall in Roxas City.
As of July 15, 2024, the total number of registered voters in Iloilo City stood at 319,194. But this number is expected to rise when the data from the August and September 2024 registrants is factored in./PN
