With less than four months left before the deadline, voters’ registration should be the priority instead of which candidates will run in the 2022 elections, Senator Kiko Pangilinan said.
“We’ll know soon enough by October kung sino ang mga tatakbo talaga. But for now, the focus should be on encouraging more people to register to vote,” Pangilinan said when asked about Senator Antonio Trillanes’s announcement of a possible candidacy as President.
The veteran legislator, who is Liberal Party president with Vice President Leni Robredo as party chairperson, said: “Number one, VP Leni has denied that she has decided to run for governor. Number two, Senator Trillanes clarified that he is going to pursue it if Vice President Leni decides not to. Sa akin, let’s wait and see. Wala pa naman ang desisyon kaya abangan.”
“Around 2.8 million new voters have already registered.”
According to Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez, around 2.8 million new voters have already registered.
Earlier, Comelec announced a goal of 4 million new voters for 2022.
“By Comelec’s target, at least 1.2 million new voters still need to register. That’s around 12,300 new registrants every day until the deadline, excluding weekends and holidays,” the seasoned lawmaker said.
“Hasten vaccine roll-outs so we can ensure that our citizens are able to exercise their democratic rights.”
“This is all the more reason we should ramp up our COVID response to test, trace, isolate. And hasten vaccine roll-outs so we can ensure that our citizens are one, safer from the pandemic and two, able to exercise their democratic rights. The 2022 elections, after all, will elect leaders who will see us through post-pandemic recovery,” the senator added.
Starting May 10, Comelec offices have accepted voter registrants from Mondays to Fridays.
Previously, Comelec was only open until Thursdays.
Comelec also reopened their satellite registration sites, which are operational until Saturday.
Voter’s registration ends on September 30.