By Leslie Ann Aquino
Voter registration for the May 2022 national and local polls remains suspended, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.
Commission on Elections (MANILA BULLETIN)
Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said voter registration activities will resume next month.
"Mag-resume ang #VoterReg2020 sa (Voter registration will resume) July 1. #MagparehistroKa (Go register)," he said in his Twitter account @jabjimenez.
It was last April 25 when the Comelec extended the suspension of voter registration and
all voter registration activities in the country up to June 30, 2020 due to the extension of the enhanced community quarantine.
"The extension was approved in light of the extension of the implementation of the
ECQ until May 15 in select areas in the country,”
COMELEC Executive Director Bartolome J. Sinocruz, Jr. said earlier.
“The conduct of voter registration is not yet advisable since there will be restrictions
on the movement of people and on certain activities,” he added.
"The period from May 1 to June 30 will give the Commission time to put in place anti-COVID-19 measures in relation to the conduct of the registration of voters once it resumes,” Sinocruz said.
It was the third suspension of the system of continuing registration of voters due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As early as March 9, all Comelec offices in all cities and
municipalities nationwide were directed to suspend voter registration until March
31.
On March 27, the poll body resolved to reschedule the lifting of the suspension from March 31 to April 30.
On Sunday, the Comelec also announced that all its offices will be instituting a "No Face-to-Face Transactions" policy with the phased resumption of its operations starting June 1.
"In order to ensure the safety of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, the offices of the Comelec nationwide will be instituting a 'No Face-to-Face Transactions' policy," the poll body said in an advisory.
It said that all transactions with the public will be done via letter, email, or fax only.
The Comelec said there will only be skeletal work forces in all their offices to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
This means that teleworking or work-from-home arrangements will be implemented for at-risk employees.
The Comelec also reminded their employees to always wear a face mask, practice handwashing and hand hygiene frequently, and observe social distancing.