An extension of the voter registration period for the 2022 elections is likely to be granted following incessant calls to move the Sept. 30 deadline to allow more people to sign up, the Commission on Elections said Tuesday.
Proposals to extend the voter registration period will be taken up by the Commission en banc in their meeting on Wednesday, said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.
"After consultation with Comelec officials, and in consideration of the public clamor, it is likely that an extension of the period of voter registration will be granted," he added.
The en banc meeting will come two days after the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the measure seeking to extend the voter registration for the 2022 polls by 30 days.
The poll body previously resolved to keep the deadline for voter registration on Sept. 30, saying that extending it would affect their preparations for the 2022 elections.
Senators, however, were concerned that the non-extension of the voter registration period would result in the disenfranchisement of at least 12 million eligible voters.
"We reiterate our desire and wish that the Comelec heed our call for an extension even just one month precisely because our first-time voters are raring to register. They are lining up for hours to be able to register," Sen. Francis Pangilinan earlier said.
"The least that the Comelec can do is not disenfranchise these voters and extend by one month," he added.
Comelec commissioner Marlon Casquejo earlier told lawmakers that should the measure be enacted into law, they would comply with the extension.
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