Comelec eyes 3 million new voters for 2028 polls

Residents under the first district of Quezon City register as voters at a satellite office of the Commission on Elections on January 31, 2023. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/FileMANILA — The Commission on Elections is targeting 3 million new voters in its eight-month registration period for the 2028 national and local elections.

The registration period will begin on Nov. 10.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the poll body eyes to increase the country’s voter population from the current 71 million to 74 million ahead of the 2028 elections.

The registration period will run until July 30, 2027.

Garcia said the Comelec will launch the voter registration through its Register Anywhere Program on Nov. 10 at Luneta Park, where the activity will run for three days.

Asked if the eight-month period was enough to reach the 3-million target, Garcia cited its previous experience registering four million voters in a shorter period.

Valid identification documents for the voter registration include national ID, driver’s license, passport, library card, police clearance, NBI clearance and senior citizens’ ID.

Barangay certifications and community tax certificates or cedulas will not be accepted as proof of identity.

 Voter registration will however be suspended in Naga City and Batanes due to upcoming plebiscite and special elections in those areas.

Garcia said registration in the two areas will resume a week after their respective electoral activities to avoid confusion over voter eligibility.

Garcia said the poll body is prepared to shoulder P30 million of the estimated P50-million cost of the plebiscite in Naga City, since the local government can only allocate P20 million for the activity.

He said the poll body hopes to secure the local government’s P20-million share during its visit next week. 

The poll body will also conduct voter registration activities in Legazpi City following Garcia’s attendance at a command conference in Naga City on Nov. 9 to 11.

 Meanwhile, Garcia said the Comelec will pilot a new transmission procedure for election results in far-flung areas of Batanes during its upcoming special elections.

Under the proposed setup, municipal boards of canvassers will transmit results through text messages instead of waiting for the physical delivery of election documents, which can take several hours due to the distance between municipalities. 

Hard copies of the results will still be submitted for verification, Garcia said.

He said the Comelec will assess the pilot implementation for possible use in future manual elections, subject to the consent of political parties and candidates.

Garcia also said the Comelec would pursue accountability in connection with alleged irregularities in the automated elections.

“Asahan niyo po yan that Comelec will not rest and settle for nothing less. We will definitely demand liability and accountability on this matter,” he said.

Garcia said the poll body is awaiting the responses of the electoral board members being probed after other individuals questioned in the investigation had submitted their answers.

He said the commission will also look into protests from the Bangsamoro region, involving the Special Geographic Area and Cotabato City, over alleged unusually high voter turnout.

He said signatures and fingerprints on voting records will be compared.

“Somebody voted for or on behalf of the voter. So ‘yan po malalaman natin,” he said.

 Garcia said the Comelec would also reconsider its earlier decision to delist several party-list groups.

“Binago namin ang rules, naging liberal tayo,” he said.

“Itong frontliners (party-list), nireconsider namin [ang] original decision namin at ni-reinstate namin ang kanilang pangalan sa listahan. ‘Yong iba naman, they can refile their petition or file another accreditation. Titingnan namin,” he added.