BONTOC, Mountain Province – The local office of the Commission on elections (Comelec) revealed that there were more than four thousand one hundred eighty three voters who were able to avail of the registration of new voters for the May 2019 mid-term elections that officially ended last September 29, 2018.
Provincial election Supervisor Atty. Ricardo Lampac said of the more than 6,000 new voters that availed of the registration period, 4,183 are considered to be new voters while some 2,000 voters were considered to have transferred their registration or have corrected entries in their voter’s information with the poll body.
The election registration boards in the different municipalities will convene on October 25, 2018 to confirm the registration of the new voters, transfer of voters, correction of entries and reactivation of voters to ascertain the actual number of registered voters in the province who will participate in next year’s local elections.
Lampac noted that prior to the nearly 3 months registration period, Mountain Province was able to reach the 100,000 mark in terms of registered voters who participated in the May 2018 synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
“We did our best to inform qualified voters to register and for those voters to correct the entries in the information in our election offices or for them to avail of transfer of voting places or reactivate their being a voter,” Lampac stressed.
Earlier, the Comelec en banc declared the period January 13, 2018 to June 12, 2018 as the election period in the country wherein a total gun ban will be implemented in time for the May 13, 2018 mid-term elections.
On the other hand, the 90-day campaign period for senators and party-list groups will start on February 8, 2019 while the 45-day campaign period for the local elections will start on March 30, 2018 and will end midnight of May 11, 2018.
Lampac expressed his gratitude to those who avail of the registration period for them to iron out their being a registered voter of the province so that they can actively participate in the upcoming political exercise that will determine the next set of local officials who will govern their municipalities and the province as well right after the mid-term polls.
He urged the registered voters to come out and cast their votes on Election Day so that their voices will be heard in determining who will be the next set of municipal and provincial officials who will govern the said local governments in the next three years.
However, he claimed that he might be re-assigned to another province during the election period pursuant to the previous practice of the poll body to reassign election officers in other areas outside their current assignments to avoid familiarity.
Lampac called on prospective candidates for the various elected positions in the municipal and provincial governments to file their required certificates of candidacy the earliest possible time starting on October 11, 2018 to avoid repeated overcrowding in the election offices at the close of office hours on October 17, 2018 which is the declared deadline of filing of COCs for those aspiring to become local officials. He clarified that the election offices will be closed during weekends during the scheduled filing dates as per marching orders from their central office and that they will only be open during week days. By HENT
