The House of Representatives unanimously approved a measure seeking to extend the voter registration deadline for another 30 days.
With 193 affirmative votes, the chamber approved House Bill 10261, which proposes to fix the last day of registration of voters for the 2022 polls.
Currently, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) set the deadline on September 30.
“We hope the Comelec will use the one-month extension to ramp up voter registration.”
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, the author of the bill, said the period for registration must be extended to avoid “massive voter disenfranchisement” given the “extraordinary circumstances’ brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“We hope the Comelec will use the one-month extension to ramp up voter registration and ensure that more people can vote next year because we cannot afford to disenfranchise voters,” Velasco said.
“At a time of uncertainty, each and every office of the government is tasked to be flexible and alert.”
The veteran legislator said the extension would also give “leeway” to Filipinos whose registration was delayed because of prevailing circumstances.
“The public health crisis has been prolonged and many prospective voters have been forced to delay their registration this year and in 2020,” the seasoned lawmaker said. “At a time of uncertainty, each and every office of the government is tasked to be flexible and alert.”
He said the poll body should not allow the democratic process of election to be stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has the potential to cause massive disenfranchisement.
“The right to vote in an election is one essential part of the democratic process, and the Comelec is duty-bound to make sure that all eligible voters are able to register and exercise their right to suffrage,” Velasco concluded.
