In this article, Tatler answers the most common questions for the upcoming #Halalan2022, because voting is more than just a civic duty
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has decided to extend voters' registration until the end of October, its chairperson Sheriff Abas declared on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.
According to Abas, the deadline will be extended from October 9 to 31, moving the supposed deadline of September 30. In its earlier statements, the Comelec said that it was unlikely to prolong the deadline as the agency prepares for the May 2022 national polls.
“Unfortunately, it’s not likely to have it extended because the day after the close of registration, the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy will commence, which means we have to start preparing for election day documents, what we call the project of precincts, and the only way we can start doing that is if we close the voters’ registration,” Spokesperson James Jimenez initially announced.
The resolution provided by the agency in August 2020 states that voter registration may only take place in areas that have transitioned to general community quarantine (GCQ) or modified GCQ.
Metro Manila, home to millions of eligible voters, has been under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ for the whole month of August until the first week of September. The lockdowns stemmed from the rising cases of COVID-19 patients.
On September 6 2021, the national government announced that the area will jump to a less stringent GCQ starting September 8 to 30; this means that people only have 23 days left to register as of this writing.
In this article are steps on how to actively involve yourself in the 2022 elections.
Read more: What It Was Like Registering to Vote For the First Time... During a Pandemic
HOW TO REGISTER
a. Make sure you are eligible
Under Article five of the 1987 Constitution, suffrage may be exercised by all Filipinos not otherwise disqualified by law. A voter must also be eighteen years of age and has resided in the Philippines for at least one year. The voter must also reside in the place they propose to vote for at least six months before the election.
b. Print and fill out the registration form
The official COMELEC forms (CEF-1, Coronavirus Self Declaration Form, and a supplementary data form for persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples) are available online.
c. Book an appointment
After filling out the registration forms, you may proceed to your local COMELEC office to sign and stamp on your fingerprints. Typically, the nearest COMELEC office would be in your city hall.
d. Bring a photocopy of your valid ID
Please provide any of the following IDs:
- Employee ID with employer’s signature
- Postal ID
- PWD discount ID
- Student’s ID with school representative’s signature
- Senior citizen ID
- Driver’s license
- NBI clearance
- Passport
- SSS/GSIS ID
- Integrated Bar of the Philippines ID
- A license issued by the Professional Regulatory Commission
- Certificate of confirmation issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (in case of members of ICCs or IPs)
e. Go to your appointment
If you were able to follow the aforementioned steps, the succeeding process should be a piece of cake. Upon arriving at your local COMELEC office, the staff may ask you to fill out COVID-19 contact tracing forms. An electoral officer will then review your application forms and have you sign them. He or she will have your application digitised and officially include you in the Election Registration Board's system. Biometrics will shortly come after. In this step, the officer will take your photo, signature, and fingerprints. A stub will be torn from your CEF-1 form. This will serve as an acknowledgement that you registered to vote for the upcoming elections. You may want to keep this in a safe place so you could claim your voter's ID in a few months' time.
f. Check out COMELEC's new mobile app
If you think printing and filling out the forms would take too much of your time, try using the recently-launched COMELEC mobile app. This new project seeks to speed up voters' registration, most especially in areas where Internet connectivity is poor. The app will generate a QR code after the applicant successfully accomplished the voter's registration form. The QR code will then be presented to the local COMELEC office.
As of this writing, the app can only be used in 575 cities and municipalities identified by the poll body as "pilot areas".
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