Voter registration starts for barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan polls

The voter registration for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) started on Monday morning.

Some first time voters arrived at the office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Quezon City as early as 3 a.m. to register, according to a report of James Agustin on GMA News' Unang Balita.

A few minutes before 8 a.m., the Comelec office already allowed the registrants to enter the registration site.

Meanwhile, in Manila, some registrants went to the wrong registration site at a Comelec office in Arroceros, according to a report of Manny Vargas on Dobol B TV.

The Comelec offices in six districts in Manila has designated the registration sites inside malls, the report said.

In an interview on CNN Philippines, Comelec spokesperson Rex Laudiangco said around two million people are expected to register with the resumption of the voter registration.

“Based on the last registration running for two weeks last July, we had around three million voters there. So at the minimum, we 're expecting around two million additional voters  for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections,” he said.

For its Register Anywhere Project (RAP) from December 17, 2022 to January 25, 2023, meanwhile, the poll body earlier named five malls in Metro Manila as venues.

These are Mall of Asia, SM Fairview, SM South Mall, Robinsons Galleria, and Robinsons Place Manila.

More malls were later added for the RAP — Robinson’s Mall Tacloban, Barangay Baras Baras, Tacloban City; SM City Legazpi, Imelda Roces Avenue, Zone 9, Barangay 37 Bitano, Legazpi City, Albay; and Robinson’s Mall Naga, Naga City, Camarines Sur.

RAP will also be conducted in government sites such as Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on January 25, 2023; House of Representatives in Quezon City with exact date/s to be determined, and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Main Office in Pasay City with exact date/s to be determined.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia earlier said the poll body will process the registration applications of first-time SK election voters and regular voters.

Aside from registration, voters can also apply for transfer of voter registration records, reactivation of voting status, and correction or change of entries in the voter registration record.

The registration will last until January 31, 2023. 

Registrants may go to the office of the election officer or satellite registration sites in their areas from Monday to Saturday, including holidays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The BSKE was supposed to be held in December 2022 but was moved to October 2023. —Joviland Rita/KG/AOL, GMA Integrated News