MEDICAL and non-medical frontliners will be given priority should they register for the 2022 national and local elections.
This was announced by Commission on Elections (Comelec) Cebu Provincial election supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021.
“We’re not holding a special registration for them since we will also cater to other voters. It’s just that frontliners will be attended to first so they can get back to work,” Castillano said in Cebuano.
Only 51,646 people have registered since September last year.
The poll official blamed the low turnout on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Castillano said the Comelec cannot conduct its usual off-site registration to avoid mass gatherings that may result in disease transmission.
“We need to protect our voters. That’s why we don’t want a lot of people in one place. We’re just complying with protocol. We need to be careful that people don’t get infected during registration,” he said in Cebu.
Castillano said Comelec offices in Cebu are open Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. They close on Fridays to allow poll personnel to disinfect their facilities.
The Comelec has given voters until Sept. 30 to register for the 2022 national and local elections. (ANV / JKV)