BACOLOD City – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) office here extended the voters’ registration hours for the upcoming May 2022 elections.
From the 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. schedule of accepting applications, the central office has allowed them to extend until 7 p.m., according to Kathrina Caña, city Comelec officer.
However, due to the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic, Caña said Comelec here can only accommodate 400 applicants per day. The city elections office has only two capturing machines to process the applications.
Another thing that limits the Comelec is the observance of social distancing.
“Indi pwede palinyahon ang mga tawo nga wala man lang assurance nga ma-accommodate sila for the whole day nga registration. Kon patiniron naton sila sa opisina kag indi man naton sila ma-accommodate gina-risk lang naton sila,” Caña explained.
She added: “Kon maabtan sila sang cut off nga indi sila ma-accommodate kami man gihapun ang malain.”
On the other hand, voters’ registration in the city’s satellite registration centers remains from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
As of July this year, the city Comelec said the number of registered voters here reached 302,168.
In 2019, during the national and local elections, Bacolod had 312,000 total registered voters.
The nationwide voters’ registration for the May 2022 polls will end on Sept. 30./PN