The Commission on Elections on Wednesday said it set a 13-hour voting window for the May 9, 2022 elections, which could be extended if there are still voters near polling places.
Voters can start casting their ballots as early as 6 a.m. on May 9 until 7 p.m., Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo told the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms.
"However, at 7 o'clock if there are still voters outside the polling place by 30 meters, we will still continue with the voting," he said.
"So we don't expect that it will end at 7 o'clock but it will continue until such time all those inside or within 30 meters in front are catered," he added.
The 13-hour voting window for the 2022 elections is one hour longer than the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. voting hours for the 2019 polls.
The Comelec has long been preparing for the conduct of the national elections in May 2022, the Philippines' first during a pandemic.
It earlier held a voting simulation activity in San Juan Elementary School to identify the problems that may be encountered during the actual election day.
The poll body had rejected proposals to hold the elections over multiple days, citing legal, security, and public acceptance issues.
As of Oct. 18, there are over 61.9 million registered voters that can participate in the 2022 elections, of which 32.7 million or half of the total number are youths, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said.
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