Mandaue election officers gave face masks, alcohol to women voters

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Mandaue City gave out masks and alcohol to the first 20 women who registered in their office on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.

Sarah Cristina Reuyan, Mandaue City election assistant, said the distribution is part of their monthly program for women.

Reuyan said they made this scheme to attract more people to register as early as now.

The next national and local elections will happen next year and the last schedule for voter registration will be in September 2021.

Reuyan said this is their strategy to avoid crowding during weeks before the voter’s registration closes, which has happened in past registrations.

Aside from giving out masks and alcohol, Reuyan said they will include women in their priority lane until Thursday, April 8.

During the observance of International Women’s Month in March, the local election office in Mandaue City held a one-week special registration just for women.

This scheme was practiced by Comelec-Mandaue considering that most of the women do not have the luxury of the time and immediately leave the household with their kids at home.

Reuyan said that most of their registrants just turned 18 years old.

This month, Reuyan said they still registered less than 65 registrants.

But compared to previous years before the Covid-19 pandemic happened, the local election office in Mandaue City could secure around 600 registrants per day.

Based on Comelec-Mandaue’s report on December 2020, there are a total of 212,405 registered voters in Mandaue City. (KFD)