Comelec extends voters listing

IT's final.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) agreed Wednesday to extend the voter registration by another three weeks after the scheduled Sept. 30 deadline. Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas confirmed it Wednesday morning in a television interview ahead of the official declaration by the Commission en banc after its regular session Wednesday.
    Abas said the voter registration extension period would be implemented for a period of 23 days or from Oct. 9 to 31. The         Comelec chief pointed out that the scheduled Sept. 30 deadline for voter registration would still be in effect.
    He said the eight-day gap was agreed upon in consideration of the logistical and manpower needs during the filing of the     Certificates of Candidacy (CoCs) from Oct. 1 to 8.
    They approved on Wednesday the extension of the voter registration period to Oct. 31, 2021, Surigao del Norte First District Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas 2nd said.
    The lawmaker, a vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, broke the news during deliberations on the proposed 2022 national budget on Tuesday.
    Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite suggested that the extension be also applied to overseas voter registration.
    Matugas said he had received information from the Comelec chairman (Sheriff Abas) that the proposal for a 30-day extension of the overseas voter registration period was included for its "consideration in its en banc meeting."
    More than 61 million new and returning voters have already registered, as of August, compared to over 61.8 million who cast their votes in the 2019 national and local elections.

Because of time and logistical constraints compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, the Comelec had hesitated to extend the voter registration period until the Senate on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill for that purpose.

There is no legal impediment for President Rodrigo Duterte to sign a law seeking the extension of the voter registration period for the 2022 national elections, Malacañang said also on Tuesday.

Both the Senate and the House have approved their respective bills seeking to extend for one month the voter registration period for the 2022 national elections.

The Comelec last week said it could only give a one-week extension limited to new registrants and voter reactivation after the September 30 deadline.

It earlier rejected calls for an extension, saying that closing the registration period at a later date would delay other preparations for next year's polls.