By Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY—Due to the spread of false information, workers of Boracay Island have been in a panic mode to register as voters.
“There has been panic registration,” said Atty. Dennis Ausan, Western Visayas regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec-6).
Since September 26, there has been a huge influx at the Comelec office in mainland Malay town of Aklan province.
Ausan said information quickly spread that workers cannot be allowed to work once Boracay welcomes back tourists next month without being registered with Comelec.
“That is not true. There is no such policy,” Ausan told Manila Bulletin Saturday.
“People have been sleeping outside the Comelec office so they could register,” Ausan said while at the sidelights of the alumni homecoming of Central Philippine University (CPU) in Iloilo City.
“I don’t know if we can accommodate all of them when registration closes today,” Ausan added.
Only those within the 30-meter radius of the Comelec office by 5 p.m. will be accommodated by Comelec for registration.
Boracay, which composes of three barangays (villages), does not have a fixed number of residents since workers come and go.
Based on the data of Comelec-Malay for the May 2019 barangay elections, there were more than 21,000 registered voters in Barangays Balabag, Manocmanoc and Yapak.