COMELEC Iloilo City exceeds voter registration target

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

An official of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in Iloilo City said on Tuesday, Oct. 1, that they have exceeded their target for voter registrations ahead of the 2025 national and local elections.

Election Assistant II Jonathan Sayno told Daily Guardian that since voter registration opened on Feb. 12, approximately 28,000 people have registered—13,000 more than their target of 15,000.

Out of the total, the Election Registration Board (ERB), which meets quarterly to approve or reject registrations, has approved around 18,000 applications.

Registrations made between July and September will be reviewed at the ERB’s Oct. 14 hearing.

The COMELEC office also issued notices of deactivation to around 25,000 voters via regular postal mail.

Grounds for deactivation include failure to vote in at least two consecutive elections, exclusion by court order, failure to validate voter records, loss of Filipino citizenship, and conviction for serious offenses.

Voters who transferred to a new precinct will have their previous voter records deactivated, though new records will be created with their updated address.

On the final day of registration, Monday, Sept. 30, the city election office processed 1,351 registrations, significantly surpassing their expected 200 daily.

To manage the surge, a logbook was implemented for registering voters to sign up and wait for their turn.

Sayno said 51 individuals who signed up did not show up for their registrations.

“It was the same scenario we experienced during COVID, but with higher daily numbers back then. This time, only Sept. 30 saw 1,300 registrants, compared to COVID years when daily numbers didn’t drop below 1,000,” Sayno said.

Filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) nationwide began in all COMELEC-designated venues on Tuesday, Oct. 1, and will run until Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Regarding the practice of withdrawal and substitution, withdrawals will be allowed until noon on election day (May 12), while substitutions will be permitted until Oct. 8, unless due to death or disqualification.

After the COC filing and ERB hearing, Sayno said the COCs will be posted on the COMELEC website to guide candidates in case of defects, such as typographical errors, that may affect how names appear on the official ballots.