Decode: How to register as a voter

 DO you want to vote in the next election? Then you better make sure you’re registered as a voter. 

The Commission on Elections resumed its voter registration today and it will be up to January 31, 2023. 

This is in preparation for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in October 2023.

The Comelec will be accepting applications for voter registration at its district offices nationwide. 

It will also accept applications for transfer, change or correction of entries in the registration records, reactivation of registration records, inclusion of registration records and reinstatement of name in the list of voters, and transfer of registration records.

It will also be open for the updating of records of persons with disabilities, senior citizens and members of Indigenous Peoples’ or Indigenous Cultural Communities and other members of vulnerable sectors.

The Comelec will accept applications from Monday to Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on December 24 and 31. 

There will also be off-site mall registration every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. 

However, voter registration in Baliwag, Bulacan will begin on December 22 because it will hold a plebiscite on December 17 for its conversion from a municipality into a city.

Who can register?

Make sure you are qualified to vote. 

To vote in the barangay elections, you must be at least 18 years old on or before the day of the elections.

You must be a resident of the Philippines for at least one year and in the place where you plan to vote, at least six months immediately preceding the elections.

To vote in the Sangguniang Kabataan elections, you must be at least 15 years old but not more than 30 years old and residing in the barangay for at least six months on or before the polls. 

Disqualified to vote are those who have been sentenced by final judgment to suffer imprisonment for not less than one year, and those adjudged by final judgment a competent court or tribunal of having committed any crime involving disloyalty to the duly-constituted government, unless they have restored to their full civil and political rights in accordance with law. 

They shall automatically reacquire the right to vote upon expiration of five years after service of sentence.

Also disqualified are insane or incompetent persons as declared by a competent authority. 

How to apply for registration?

You should appear before the election officer and provide your name, exact address, and present any identification document with your photograph and signature.

These are: 

• National identification card under the Philippine Identification System
• Employee’s ID card, with the signature of the employer or authorized representative
• Postal ID card
• Student’s ID card or library card, signed by the school authority
• Senior Citizen’s ID card
• Driver’s license
• NBI clearance
• Passport
• SSS/GSIS or other UMID ID card
• Integrated Bar of the Philippines ID card
• 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
• Barangay identification/certification with photo
• Ay other valid ID cards

The Comelec said community tax certificates or cedula and Philippine National Police clearances will not be honored as valid identification documents. 

In case you don’t have any of the documents listed above, the Comelec said you could be identified under oath by any registered voter of the precinct where you intend to be registered, or by any of your relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.

Validation and collection of data 

The election officer is expected to conduct a brief interview with you and inform you of the consequences of having double or multiple registration records. 

After the officer has checked the voters’ records and determined that you’re not yet registered, you will be given a copy of the application form to fill out. 

You could also download the form online prior to visiting the election office. 

You should personally accomplish the form and submit it to the election officer. Titles such as Datu, Sultan, Hadji, Bai and the like would not be allowed to be included as part of your name.

The application for should be signed and thumbmarked in the presence of the election officer. 

The election officer will then write down your application form number, return to form to you, and direct you to the operator of the voter registration machine. 

The VRM operation will encode your demographics information and capture your demographics data, and have you check these for accuracy.

The election officer will then administer your oath, sign the form, cut the bottom portion and indicate the date of the hearing of the Election Registration Board, and give the bottom portion to you to serve as acknowledgment receipt.

You won’t need to appear at the hearing if there is no opposition to your application for registration.