No Mall Voting for May 9 Elections: Comelec

Filipinos cannot cast their votes for the May 9 elections in malls, the Commission of Elections said Monday citing legal issues.

Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo said mall voting was "not considered" for the 2022 elections.

"I think that was in the 2016 elections where mall voting was considered by Chairman [Andy] Bautista. But there are things to be done before this will be approved, and for the 2022 elections it was not considered," he told reporters in a press conference.

Comelec executive director Bartolome Sinocruz Jr. said the legal basis for holding mall voting has yet to be clearly defined.

"As of now, ang standard operating procedure is that the voters will go to their voting centers and vote there. If we transfer that, there are several criteria to be considered," he said.

"Is it centrally located to the voters within the precinct or within the barangay or the municipality? So yun pa ang inaaral," he added.

The Comelec last year partnered with mall operators to hold voter registration activities in malls across the country in hopes of making it more accessible to the public.

Some 65 million Filipinos are registered to cast their votes on May 9, which will determine the successors of President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo.

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