Voter registration deadline today

The Commission on Elections-7 will not be extending today's deadline of registration for voters of the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

Comelec-7 director Rafael Olano said they did not receive a directive from the central office extending the deadline of the registration; hence, they will abide by the initial order to end the registration today, July 30.

"'Yung original directive namin is up to July 30 lang 'yung registration, so we will follow that directive," he said.

Comelec data showed that from July 15 to 23, a total of 1,181,139 nationwide have registered for the barangay and SK elections.

In Central Visayas, as of Monday, a total of 146,000 applicants have filed to become registered voters.

Olano said they do not have a target percentage as to the voters' turnout considering that there were no SK elections held in the past years.

When asked about their preparations for the upcoming elections, Olano said the Comelec will evaluate the applications and is now preparing for the election paraphernalia which will be used during the polls.

"After this registration, we will have the convening of the Election Registration Board (ERB) which will evaluate the applications made during the registration. The ERB will also be the one to approve or disapprove the applications," Olano said.

Meanwhile, the election officers will post the final list of voters prior to the election.

The Comelec is also having their bidding for the printing of the official ballots which will be used during the election. They have also conducted inventory of the ballot boxes to be used as well as the printing of other election paraphernalia.

The barangay and SK elections will be held on October 31, 2016.