Comelec urges ‘delisted voters’ to register for reactivation

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair George Garcia urged those who were delisted from the poll body’s list of voters to take advantage of the ongoing registration so they could participate in the next elections.

“Meron po tayong ongoing registration, meron tayong tinatawag na “reactivation”… Ang ibig sabihin ng reactivation kahit sila ay natanggal, hindi ibig sabihin hindi na sila botante. Botante pa din sila, andiyan ang record pero ang dating, ang parusa ng batas eh hindi ka muna pabobotohin,” Garcia said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.  

(We have an ongoing registration, we have something called “reactivation”… Reactivation means that even if they have been deleted, it does not mean that they are no longer voters. They are still voters, the record is there, but as a punishment by law, you are temporarily not allowed to vote.)

On Friday, Comelec said some 4.2 million names have been removed from its official list of voters. Most of those delisted were from Region IV-A (Calabarzon).

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

“Malaki diyan sa 4.2 million na yan (na natanggal) ay yung two succesive elections (na hindi nakaboto). Ibig sabihin, hindi po nakaboto yung mga kababayan natin nung 2022 national elections at itong May at December 2023 Baranggay at SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) elections,” said Garcia. 

(A big part of that 4.2 million that were deleted is from those who were not able to vote in the last two elections. They were not able to vote in the 2022 national elections and this May and December 2023 Baranggay and SK election.)

“Ngayon po, ang listahan pong yan ay available sa bawat local COMELEC. Alam naman nila kung nakaboto sila o hindi,” he added.

(The list is available in every local COMELEC. They know if they voted or not.)

The voter registration period for the May 2025 midterm polls started on February 12 and will end on September 30, 2024.

“Kaya po, reactivate, ongoing naman po ang registration natin hanggang September 30. Kaya mas maganda na magpa-reactivate ang mga matatanggal diyan sa deactivation,” emphasized Garcia. 

(So, reactivate. Our registration is ongoing until September 30. It’s better to reactivate for those who will be removed from the deactivation.)

Applicants may register from Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at any Comelec office nationwide. 

Comelec earlier said that as of May 5, 2024, more than 2.5 million new voters were already registered for the 2025 national and local elections, nearing the three million target set by the poll body. —VAL, GMA Integrated News