The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) urged those voters whose voting status were already deactivated to have their records reactivated ahead of the national and local elections in May 2022.

"Nananawagan po tayo na ang ating mga kababayan na na-deactivate na po, magrehistro po kayo kasi high stakes election po ang 2022 National and Local Elections at kailangan po kayong, kailangan po ninyong gamitin ang karapatan ninyo para bumoto (We call on our citizens who have been deactivated, please register because the 2022 national and local Elections is a high stake election. You need to use your right to vote),” said PPCRV Executive Director Maria Isabel Buenaobra during an interview with Church-run Radyo Veritas.

Buenaobra said that it is important for every qualified citizen to take part in the upcoming elections to exercise their rights and uphold democracy.

PPCRV will also coordinate with the different dioceses in the country to encourage qualified individuals to register with the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“Magkakaroon po tayo ng pakikipag-usap sa mga dioceses para sana po ay sumama po sila sa ganitong kampanya na himukin ang mga kabataan at yung mga deactivated, OFWs at yung mga nandito sa Pilipinas na mag-activate po uli sila para makasama uli sila sa tala, sa statistics ng mga botante (We will coordinate with the dioceses so that they will join this campaign and encourage the youth, OFWs, and those here in the Philippines to reactivate their status so that they will be included again in the voter statistics),” said Buenaobra.

In February, the Comelec said that around seven million voters were deactivated for failure to vote in two consecutive elections.

"If you were unable to vote in these two, you are deactivated. You only need to apply for reactivation. No need to register again,” the Comelec then said.

Related Story: Comelec deactivates 7 million registered voters ahead of May 2022 polls