The Commission on Elections (Comelec) should do overtime work during weekends to cover for the two-week suspension of the voter registration due to the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Wednesday, August 4.
Gatchalian said the poll body can come in Saturday and Sundays to cover lost ground, like what the Senate would be doing.
The Senate plans to hold sessions until Thursday to make up for lost time during the ECQ.
“They should do it because we owe it to our people to get registered and we want them to register because the more people who will vote, the better for our democracy,” Gatchalian said in an interview on ANC’s Headstart.
“We are not telling them to extend or come up with additional dates, but what we are telling them at least, from my point of view, is to do overtime, to come in Saturday, Sunday to cover that lost time,” he said.
Last Monday, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the poll body has not discussed the possibility of extending the voter registration for the May 2022 national elections beyond it’s deadline on September 30, 2021.
Other senators, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Sen. Risa Hontiveros have endorsed an extension of the voters’ registration deadline.
“I don’t see any harm with extending this registration period. The Comelec just must work double time in order to prepare for the 2022 elections. I encourage our new voters to register as voters because the election next year is critical,” Drilon said.
Hontiveros said that while she agrees that deadlines should be observed, the poll body should consider that the country is now under extraordinary circumstances and thus it is logical to extend the voter registration period by at least two more weeks.
“Hopefully, in this case, Comelec can make one last necessary extension. COVID-19's Delta variant has already disrupted our communities. Let it not get in the way of our citizens' desire to participate in the May 2022 elections,” she said.