The Commission on Elections has deactivated about 53,325 registered voters from the voter’s list in Bacolod City by provision of law, for failure to vote twice during regular elections, Bacolod Election Officer Mavil Majarucon said yesterday.

Majarucon said they deactivated the names of those who failed to vote in the May 2007 and barangay elections during the Election Registration Board meeting held in the city Monday and yesterday.

She said the ERB hearing was attended by the representatives of Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella and Mayor Evelio Leonardia, the National Movement for Free Elections and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.

Majarucon said it is during the ERB hearing when they approve or disapprove voters’ applications. Applications from January 2 will be the subject of the next ERB hearing on April 20, while other ERB hearings are scheduled on July 20, October 19 and December 22, she said.

After the last ERB hearing on Dec. 22, they can no longer entertain complaints of those who want to be included in the list of voter’s for the 2010 election if their names have been deactivated since this is outside the jurisdiction of the COMELEC, Majarucon said.

They have to file their inclusion or exclusion proceedings before the Municipal Trial Court, she said. Her office can only entertain complaints while they are still conducting ERB hearings, she added.

Majarucon said the last day of registration is Dec. 15, 2009. She is encouraging the public to check their records at the COMELEC ahead of time so they will know if they are registered voters of Bacolod or not, before election comes, she said.

She said she has observed that when election is near, there are politicians who complain that some of their supporters are not in the list of voters. They should be vigilant as there are remedies they can still avail of, she said.

Meanwhile, Majarucon said that as early as December 2008, they already sent out notices to all the barangay captains in Bacolod and even gave them the names of the 53,325 registered voters who have been deactivated so they could help in the dissemination.

She said they also sent out personal notices to these persons and even notified all the political parties, the PPCRV and Namfrel about the matter.    

To have their records reactivated, all they have to bring is a valid ID or police or National Bureau of Investigation clearance, Majarucon said.

She said they do not entertain cedula or barangay clearance.

Majarucon said that since they started the voter’s registration on Dec. 2, 2008, they only receive about 100 applicants a day. Their quota is 250 applicants per day since this is what their data capturing machine can accommodate, so she is encouraging the public to register early, she said.

Majarucon said that from Dec 2 to 19, there were only 1,300 who registered with the COMELEC. To date they only have about 1,500, she said.*CGS

back to top