COMELEC LOOKS SET TO HIT GOAL OF 3M NEW VOTERS

Less than three months after it started accepting applications, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Wednesday that more than two million people have registered to become voters—more than two-thirds of its targeted three million new voters for the 2025 midterm polls.

In a Viber message to reporters, Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said that as of April 16, a total of 2,082,744 registration applications had been processed nationwide in their local offices, satellite registration centers and “Register Anywhere Program” stations.

The top five regions with the most number of applicants were Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces) with 386,256; Metro Manila, 312,865; Central Luzon, 243,583; Central Visayas, 151,880; and Davao, 109,501.

The voters’ registration period is from Feb. 12 until Sept. 30 this year.

Special registration

On Monday and Tuesday, Garcia and other commissioners monitored the special registration activities conducted at Moro Islamic Liberation Front military camps in Maguindanao del Norte. There were 491 applicants at Camp Abubakar in Barira town, and 1,095 at Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town.

In an interview with reporters, Garcia said the election registration boards (ERBs) nationwide convened on Monday to examine the applications filed from Feb. 12 to Mar. 27. The last day to file an opposition to the applications was April 12.

Applications filed from April 1 to June 30 will be heard for approval or disapproval by the ERBs on July 15, while those filed from July 1 to Sept. 30 will be heard on Oct. 14. The last days to file an opposition to the applications for the last two batches are July 12 and Oct. 11.