‘Register early for barangay, SK polls’

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) urged the public yesterday not to wait for the deadline to register for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

“While we will have a longer registration period, we are urging voters to register early to avoid long queues,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said.

The poll body is expecting three million voters to register for the barangay elections and another two million for the SK polls to be held in October next year.

The registration period starts tomorrow until April 29, 2017. It will be held Mondays to Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Dec. 24 and 25 and April 13 and 14.

Jimenez said each data-capturing machine that will take the voters’ digital signatures, photographs and fingerprints will cover only 1,000 registrants per day to avoid technical problems.

He said the Comelec would accommodate as many voters as possible during the fivemonth registration period.

“We will receive applications even on Saturdays and holidays. We will conduct mandatory satellite registrations at least twice in every barangay, nationwide,” Jimenez added.

Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chairman Rene Sarmiento said they would seek the support of local parishes to encourage more people to register.

“The voters’ registration could be announced from the pulpit. We would also seek the help of the academe,” Sarmiento said.

He said the PPCRV would assist those displaced by armed conflicts and calamities so they can exercise their right to vote.

Voters’ IDs

Meanwhile, barangay officials have been warned against distributing voters’ identification cards.

“The IDS can be claimed only from local EOs (election officers). Only local EOs are authorized to release and distribute voters’ IDs,” Jimenez said.

The poll body earlier said unclaimed voters’ IDs would be distributed during the satellite registration to be held in barangays.

Some 6.3 million voters’ IDs remain unclaimed, Comelec data shows.

No mass replacement

As this developed, Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo allayed fears of barangay officials that they will be replaced.

Castelo said the law postponing the barangay elections states that until successors have been duly elected and qualified, incumbent barangay officials shall remain in office, “unless sooner removed or suspended for cause.”

He said he was forced to issue the statement amid reports that the Department of the Interior and Local Government will replace barangay officers.

“The essence of keeping incumbent officials while waiting for the elections is the preservation of leadership in barangays and keep them as functional as possible to serve their constituents,” he said.