The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) estimates that there are about three million eligible voters who still haven’t registered their biometric data in anticipation of next year’s election.
With the October 31st deadline fast approaching, it’s a serious concern for Comelec. Eligible voters who fail to register their biometric data by the deadline won’t be able to vote; as such, Comelec has been very busy over the last several months trying to raise awareness about the issue.
Still, as Comelec executive Rey Doma pointed out to GMA New Online, the three million estimate does reflect considerable progress over the eight million outstanding earlier this year. Doma suggested that those who have not registered who live in urban areas are preoccupied with their busy professional lives, while those in rural areas may have difficulty traveling to registration centers.
But Comelec has taken measures to counteract those issues. For example, early in its campaign it sought to establish registration centers in the country’s popular malls, many of which are in urban centers; and recently the Commission announced it would deploy mobile registration units to help serve rural communities.
With almost six percent of eligible voters still unregistered and less than two weeks to go, Comelec will likely pour all its resources into a final big push to get people signed up and make sure they can vote in 2016.
Source: GMA News Online
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October 21, 2015 – by Alex Perala
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