Voter registration program eyed for expansion to more municipalities

MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to expand its Special Registration Anywhere Program (SRAP) to more municipalities nationwide, allowing more Filipinos to register or transfer their voter records without returning to their hometowns.

The SRAP brings voter registration closer to the public by setting up registration sites in accessible locations such as schools, malls and other establishments.

Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said the program is currently being implemented in highly urbanized cities and provincial capitals, but the commission hopes to eventually bring it to ordinary municipalities.

“The time will come, even in ordinary municipalities, we will have a Registration Anywhere program,” Garcia said during an ambush interview on Thursday.

The Comelec relaunched the SRAP on the first day of voter registration on Nov. 10 at Mabini Hall in Luneta Park. The three-day registration activity ran until Nov. 12, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

READ: Comelec eyes exceeding 3-million voter registration target

The next SRAP activity will be held at WalterMart Chino Roces on Nov. 19 and will be open to the public. Another registration activity is scheduled at Far Eastern University-Manila on Nov. 24, exclusively for the school’s students.

Garcia described the initiative as one of the commission’s most awarded programs internationally, saying it should be sustained and expanded under succeeding administrations.

The commission is also implementing a related initiative called Registration Anytime, which allows Filipinos to register at selected sites beyond regular registration hours.

These include airports, hospitals and data centers in Metro Manila, where registration services are made available even at night and until dawn.

“We have it so that we can register the doctors, nurses, our countrymen who are traveling,” Garcia said.

Garcia cited the experience of a registrant originally from Tacloban City who was able to transfer his voter registration while working in Metro Manila.

READ: Comelec surprised by ‘overwhelming’ turnout as voter registration reopens

“He happened to be working here, and therefore, he’s getting his registration transferred,” he said.

While acknowledging that some registration sites may be less comfortable than air-conditioned malls, Garcia encouraged the public to take advantage of the program, saying it offers a faster and more convenient way to register.

“But the good thing about this is that it’s fast, and they don’t have to go back to the provinces,” he said.

Garcia urged the public to be patient with possible queues and other inconveniences as the commission continues to expand its registration services. /jpv

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