ILOILO – Voters’ registration resumed on Monday, Dec. 12.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Western Visayas encourages those who still haven’t registered to do so or they won’t be able to vote for the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
According to Atty. Tomas Valera, Comelec Region 6 assistant regional director, all municipal and city elections offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and on Dec. 24 and 31.
The voters’ registration will run from Dec. 12 to Jan. 31, 2023, except on Dec. 24 and 25 and Dec. 31, 2022 and Jan. 1, 2023.
Those who wish to register should bring a government-issued valid identification card or birth certificate or school records.
They should also bring their own ballpens to lessen contact and possible transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Aside from voter registration, all election offices also accept applications for transfer, change or correction of records, reactivation of registration records, and inclusion and reinstatement of name on the voters’ list for deactivated or delisted individuals.
Applications for transfer of records from overseas to local voting, including applications for update of records of persons with special needs, elderlies, members of indigenous peoples, and vulnerable sectors, will also be accepted.
“Subong pa lang magpa-register na kay kon hulaton pa ang last day sang registration basi mag-ginutok,” Valera said.
Qualified to register for the barangay election are those aged 18 years old and above, or will turn 18 before the election.
For the SK elections, youngsters from 15 to 17 years old are qualified to register.
Base on Republic Act No. 10742 or the SK Reform Act of 2015, SK voters shall be aged 15 to 30 years old while candidates are between 18 to 24 years old.
In the recent May 9 national and local elections, Region 6 reached 5,026,482 registered voters – higher by 217,643 from the 2019 midterm elections’ 4,808,839.
Here’s the breakdown of registered voters per province and highly urbanized city in Region 6:
* Aklan – 409,938
* Antique – 387,998
* Capiz – 529,079
* Guimaras – 124,076
* Iloilo – 1,628,752
* Iloilo City – 330,470
* Negros Occidental – 1,946,639
* Bacolod City – 327,403./PN
