Police forces in Metro Manila and other urban areas were ordered to help secure the voter's registration in malls as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) expanded the efforts to have more Filipinos register for the 2022 elections more than two weeks before the September 30 deadline.
Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), minimum health standards should be followed by those who would troop to the malls for the voter registration process this month in order to prevent turning the mall registration into super-spreader events.
"We expect that more people would go to the malls to register especially a few days before the deadline. That is coordination must be made with mall authorities to protect them from infection," said Eleazar.
COVID-19 cases in he country remains consistently high amid the government's attempts to implement various quarantine rules. In a few days, the government will try to see the effectiveness of the new restrictions under alert level system and granular lockdown.
The Commission on Elections had worked with Robinsons Malls, Ayala Malls, and SM Supermalls to accommodate more voter applicants for the 2022 national and local elections nationwide. This as the deadline for voter registration is only until September 30.
Eleazar tasked chiefs of police to coordinate with the management of malls in their respective areas of responsibility, especially with their security staff, for the enforcement of health and safety standards.
The PNP chief also ordered his men to always observe maximum tolerance, and treat those inside the malls, including violators, with utmost respect. He also urged the public to cooperate and just follow the rules being implemented for everyone’s safety.