BONTOC, Mountain Province – The Provincial Election Office disclosed that the different municipal election offices are ready for the resumption of registration of voters on September 1, 2020 pursuant to the new normal guidelines crafted by the Commission on elections (COMELEC).
Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Ricardo Lampac said that the various municipal health offices already issued the required certifications that the election offices in their areas of jurisdiction were able to comply with the prescribed health and safety protocols as per inspection, thus, the said offices are ready to accept individuals that want to avail of the registration of voters for the May 2022 synchronized national and local elections.
Lampac stated that the services that will be provided by the different election offices will include the registration of new voters, transfer of voting center, change of status, shift to local from overseas absentee voting and other routine services of the poll body.
He urged residents of the province who are not yet registered voters to avail of the prescribed registration period from September 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 so that there will be no overcrowding in the election offices on the last days of the registration.
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The poll official stipulated that qualified voters, especially those who will be 18 years old on the date of the elections, should already avail of the prescribed registration period so that they will be able to exercise their right of suffrage and become instruments in selecting the deserving elders of the municipality, city and province where they opt to reside.
According to him, the provincial and municipal election offices worked hard to ensure that their facilities will be compliant with the stringent minimum health and safety protocols that had been crafted by the national and local inter-agency task forces for the management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases after the earlier scheduled July 1, 2020 resumption of the registration of voters was moved to September 1, 2020.
Lampac called on individuals who will be going to the different election offices in the province to also comply with the prescribed minimum health standards such as the wearing of face masks and face shields and the observance of the appropriate physical distancing to prevent the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) that will compromise the health condition of election officials and employees that are assigned to assist them.
Mountain Province has more or less 100,000 registered voters from the 10 municipalities but only around 70 to 80 percent cast their votes during the conduct of national and local elections every 3 years.
Lampac expressed his gratitude to the election officials and employees who worked hard to prepare their offices for the new normal situation pursuant to the guidelines from the Commission so that there will be no unnecessary delays in the resumption of the registration of voters on September 1, 2020 to cater to the individuals who will be availing of their different services during the present difficult times.
He emphasized that the prevailing crisis situation should not be a deterrent for individuals to avail of one of the most important services of the poll body for them to be able to exercise their constitutional right to suffrage so that their voices will be heard on who will be their deserving leaders.
By Hent
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