The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on Thursday, January 11 that voter registration will resume on Feb. 12, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., including Saturdays and holidays and will be held until September 30.
Comelec said that registration will continue except when declared otherwise by the poll body itself, and except on March 28, 29 and 30, 2024 (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Black Saturday).
Registrants must accomplish one copy of the application form, which is available free of charge at the Office of the Election Officer (OEO), or may be downloaded at www.comelec.gov.ph and printed on long bond paper (8 in. x 13 in.).
The option to electronically fill-out the application form is also available through the Online Application Form at the official Comelec website, which must also be downloaded and printed on long bond paper.
Comelec said that Persons with Disability (PWDs), Senior Citizens (SCs), members of Indigenous People (IPs) or Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs), and Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) may also update their record using the Supplementary Data Form.
Applications must be filed personally at the OEO where the registrant resides.
However, the following types of applications may be filed online until September 7, 2024:
- Reactivation only;
- Reactivation with transfer of registration WITHIN the same city/municipality/district, or with correction of entries;
- Reactivation with transfer of registration WITHIN the same city/municipality/district, AND with correction of entries; and
- Reactivation with updating of records of SCs and PWDs.
Online applications shall be filed through the official email addresses of the OEOs, which may be accessed through www.comelec.gov.ph.
In addition to the duly filled-out application form, registrants must present any of the following valid IDs bearing his/her signature:
- National Identification (ID) card under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys);
- Postal ID card;
- PWD ID card;
- Student's ID card or library card, signed by the school authority;
- Senior Citizen's ID card
- Land Transportation Office (LTO) Driver's License/Student Permit;
- National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance;
- Philippine Passport;
- Social Security System (SSS)/Government Service Insurance System
- (GSIS) or other Unified Multi-Purpose ID card;
- Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) ID card;
- License issued by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC);
- Certificate of Confirmation issued by the National Commission on
- Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in case of members of ICCs or IPs;
- Barangay Identification/Certification with photo; and
- Any other government-issued valid IDs.
Employee IDs shall not be accepted as valid ID for purposes of registration.
"Meron po kaming ilalabas na amended guidelines sa pagpaparehistro. Bawal na po ang company ID. Hindi na po namin papayagan ang company ID mula ngayon. Dapat po government-issued ID lamang ang pwedeng magparehistro (We released amended guidelines in registering. Company IDs are no longer allowed. We will no longer allow company IDs starting now. Only government-issued IDs will be allowed to register)," Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said in a statement.
Register Anywhere Program
Simultaneous with the resumption of the system of continuing registration on February 12, 2024, the poll body will also conduct the Register Anywhere Program (RAP) in all capital cities and towns and highly urbanized cities (HUCs) nationwide.
Previously denominated as a "project" when it was piloted in 2023, Comelec said that RAP has now been institutionalized in the Commission as a program owing to its favorable turnout and positive reception by the general public and other stakeholders.
Through the program, a qualified registrant will be allowed to file his/her application wherever there is a designated RAP registration site regardless of his/her place of residence. RAP registration sites will be set up in malls, universities, or government offices/agencies in all capital cities and towns and HUCs nationwide.
The following types of applications shall be accepted in RAP sites:
- New registration;
- Transfer of registration from another city/municipality/district;
- Transfer of registration from overseas to local;
- Correction of Entries or Change of Status; and
- Reactivation.
The conduct of RAP will end on August 31, 2024.
RAP activities will be simultaneously conducted with satellite registration. This means that qualified registrants who are residing in the locality where there is a designated RAP site, will also be allowed to file their application in the said RAP site, and will no longer have to submit the application at the OEO.
In the same manner, and outside of capital towns and cities and highly urbanized cities, Special Register Anywhere Program sites shall be put up on select church organizations, private establishments, government agencies, and educational institutions. This is to provide further avenues and opportunities for voter registration in places of higher concentration of people traffic and congregation of persons of voting age beyond the coverage of the regular RAP.
This move will maximize efforts to register workers, employees, and students with limited time and opportunity to register, for them to become voters for the 2025 National and Local Elections.
Voter registration for overseas voting
Meanwhile, voter registration for overseas voting in relation to the May 2025 National and Local Elections will also end on September 30, 2024.
All Filipino citizens of voting age who will be abroad or overseas during the 2025 NLE can register as an overseas voter.
To register, the applicant must: Bring their valid Philippine Passport and fill out the OVF1 form which can be downloaded from the official Comelec website; and visit the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate to submit the OVF1 form and to capture biometric data.
Filipino citizens who want to exercise their right to vote abroad must register first as an overseas voter to be able to participate in the Internet Voting for overseas voters in the upcoming 2025 NLE. All registered overseas voters can cast their vote within the 30-day overseas voting period from April 13, 2025 to May 12, 2025.