Naga City, 6 Batanes towns to skip Nov. 10 voter registration reopening

MANILA, Philippines — Naga City and six municipalities in Batanes will not participate in the nationwide reopening of voter registration on November 10, due to a scheduled plebiscite and special elections, respectively, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday.

Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said voter registration in Naga City would be temporarily suspended due to the November 21 plebiscite on its proposed conversion into a highly urbanized city.

READ: Comelec to reopen voter registration on Nov. 10 for 2028 polls

Meanwhile, Laudiangco said voter registration in six municipalities in Batanes would not reopen on November 10 due to the special elections scheduled on November 28 to fill a vacant seat in the House of Representatives.

The six municipalities are Basco, Itbayat, Ivana, Mahatao, Sabtang, and Uyugan.

Batanes lone district Rep. Ciriaco Gato Jr. died on September 21 due to cardiac arrest, leaving the congressional seat vacant.

Laudiangco said registration would proceed in the rest of the country until July 30, 2027.

READ: Comelec receives 4.7-M  voter registration applications

The Comelec will also bring its Special Register Anywhere Program to malls, airports, terminals, call centers, and universities to make voter registration more accessible.

“Sa SRAP [Special Register Anywhere Program], doon magparehistro. Kami na po ang bahalang mag-publish ng pangalan ninyo, mag-aayos ng status ninyo at sisiguraduhin po namin, kung qualified po kayo, magiging registered voter kayo,” Laudiangco said.

(Register through the SRAP. We will take care of publishing your name, updating your registration status and ensuring that you become a registered voter if you are qualified.)

He also said that the poll body currently has around 69 million registered voters and expects the number to increase by 3 million during the eight-month registration period, bringing the total to between 71 million and 72 million.

The figure differs from the 71 million registered voters earlier cited by Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia in October.

The poll body is also preparing to offer online reactivation services for voters whose registration records have been deactivated for failing to vote in two consecutive elections.

Under the online reactivation system, applicants may access the application form through the Comelec’s iRehistro portal, fill in their personal information and generate a PDF copy of the application. The accomplished and signed form must then be submitted through email.

Laudiangco also said the Comelec would schedule a video conference with applicants to verify their identities before deciding whether to approve their reactivation.

“Magsasagawa lamang po tayo ng isang parang video conferencing. Magpapadala kayo via email ng form. At pag masiguro namin through the video conferencing na kayo nga ‘yan, eh yun na po yun,” he said.

(We will simply conduct a video conference. You will send the form through email. Once we are able to verify through the video conference that you are indeed the applicant, that will be it.)

Voters who have transferred to another residence may also apply for reactivation and transfer of registration at the same time using one form.

Laudiangco clarified that voters who failed to participate in only one election would not yet be deactivated. Katherine Cielo Guimera/INQUIRER.net trainee /jpv

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