ILOILO City – Following the successful voter education and registration fair at the West Visayas State University (WVSU) in La Paz district here yesterday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) plans to expand these activities to additional provinces and highly urbanized cities.
The forthcoming Comelec voter education and registration fair will take place at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City on Feb. 23, aiming to serve cities and municipalities in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod itself.
“We will cross over there, and the different cities and municipalities of Negros Occidental will also be present to conduct registration, accommodating individuals who are in Bacolod City but cannot return to their municipalities and cities,” said Comelec-6 director Atty. Dennis Ausan.
The voter education and registration fair yesterday was organized by Comelec-Iloilo under the guidance of Atty. Rainier Layson, provincial election supervisor of Comelec-Iloilo and concurrent acting election officer of Comelec-Iloilo City, in coordination with WVSU president Dr. Joselito F. Villaruz.
After Bacolod City, the voter education and registration fair moves to Aklan on March 12, with subsequent events planned for the provinces of Antique, Capiz and Guimaras.
The WVSU event is the first of its kind in the region, supporting Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia’s campaign to enroll three million new registrants by the end of September 2024.
Ausan said the voter education and registration fair is just one of several initiatives by Comelec to raise awareness among all citizens, especially the youth. He noted that voter registration resumed on February 12 and will continue until September 30, 2024.
Another initiative by Comelec is the Registered Anywhere Program (RAP), which establishes registration venues in highly urbanized cities, allowing individuals from provinces like Iloilo to register without needing to return home. Applicants simply need to visit a RAP venue and register using their place of origin.
“We are launching these activities to spread the message that from February 12 to September 30, there is a resumption of continuous registration, during which our offices are open to accept various applications for registration,” said Ausan.
He encouraged everyone, particularly those who will be at least eighteen years old on the day of the National and Local Elections, to visit election offices or satellite registration venues to register. City and municipal election offices are accepting applications from Monday to Friday, including Saturdays and all holidays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ausan advised against waiting until the last month, week, or hour to register to avoid the rush. Those wishing to register should bring any valid government-issued identification card (original and photocopy) with the applicant’s photograph and signature.
Comelec does not accept company-issued IDs.
Bringing a filled-out registration form, available on the Comelec website (https://comelec.gov.ph), can expedite the process.
In addition to registration, Comelec accepts applications for transfer or change of residence, reactivation, correction of entry, and change of status, among others.
As of February 20, Comelec has received 19,000 applications in the entire region since February 12./PN
