Comelec renews call for delisted voters to seek reactivation for 2025 polls

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday urged delisted voters anew to apply for reactivation ahead of the 2025 national and local elections (NLE).

Data from the Comelec showed more than 5.1 million names were removed from the official list of registered voters for the midterm polls as of July 20.

"Ito ay bunsod ng pagpapatupad ng Comelec ng RA No. 8189, 'yung ating continuing system of voter registration, kung saan sinasabi ng batas na kapag ang isang registered voter ay 'di nakaboto sa dalawang sunod na halalan o higit pa ay kailangan i-deactivate ng Comelec," the poll body's spokesperson Rex Laudiangco said in a public briefing.

(The delisting was due to the implementation of RA No. 8189 which states that registered voters who failed to cast their ballots in two succeeding elections will be deactivated.)

"Meron pa po tayong oras para makapag-reactivate. Kaya nilabas kaagad ng Comelec ang datos na ito para mabigyan kayo ng pagkakataon na magpa-reactivate pa (We still have time to reactivate. That's why the Comelec promptly released its data to provide an opportunity to seek reactivation)," Laudiangco added.

The poll body over earlier said a total of 5,105,191 registered voters were deactivated from their official list and 248,972 names were deleted.

Reasons for the delisting include failure to vote in two successive preceding regular elections, by court order, loss of Filipino citizenship, and having non-valid documents.

To apply for reactivation, Laudiangco said, voters may download and print a form from the Comelec website, which may be submitted to the local poll body offices or satellite registration sites.

Delisted voters may likewise opt to scan the form and submit it to the email address of the office of election officer (OEO) where they were previously registered. Upon submission, the OEO would schedule an appointment and the voter would be asked to take oath through video conference.

Meanwhile, Laudiangco said voters may verify their status in their respective OEO. They may confirm their reactivation application through the Comelec offices.

Some 409,329 voters applied for reactivation from February 12 to July 20, according to the Comelec data.

The number of voters for the 2025 NLE stands at around 60 million, Laudiangco said.

It may reach up to 68 million, with the 4.8 million new registered voters for the midterm polls. — VDV, GMA Integrated News