Comelec considers e-registration for next voters’ registration period

An elderly woman is assisted as she undergoes biometric procedure at a voters’ registration facility in Binondo, Manila on January 26, 2023.  —INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is eyeing to implement “e-registration,” or online registration, in the next voters’ registration period in October 2025 if the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) are postponed.

This is what Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia answered when asked if the poll body can conduct an online registration amid reports that some voter registrants fainted during the recently concluded voters’ registration drive.

Garcia said that the online registration had existed before, but the poll body will reinforce and strengthen its implementation.

“I am almost sure that this will be implemented—the e-register or the online application for registration. But they still need to go to their local Comelec to have their pictures and fingerprints taken,” Garcia told reporters in an interview.

“That is necessary for the biometrics to compare with our existing registrations, so registration sites will not be crowded by just submitting their forms,” he added.

READ: Comelec tallies 2.13M new voters at end of latest list up

Garcia noted that the system of online registration will automatically generate a schedule on when the voter registrant will visit their local Comelec office to have their biometrics, pictures, and oath taken. However, he said that once the voter registrant misses their schedule, their application will be voided and they will have to apply again.

Acknowledging data privacy concerns once the online registration is launched, he said that they will approve the system to the Department of Information and Communications Technology to prevent hacking and data breaches.

Meanwhile, Garcia shared that the poll body received around 2.8 million voters’ registrations during the 10-day drive, which began last August 1 until August 10. This exceeded the poll body’s target of registering 1.5 million new applicants.

On what he regarded as the “most successful” voters’ registration in the history of Comelec, the chairperson attributed the huge turnout to the youth. He added that around 65 to 68 percent of the applications came from the youth.

READ: Marcos to sign law postponing barangay and SK elections

Garcia reiterated that the next voters’ registration period will run from October 2025 to July 2026 if the BSKE is postponed.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said that he will sign the proposed bill seeking to extend the current three-year term of elected BSK officials despite Garcia’s pronouncement that the bill will lapse into law by August 14.

Should the bill be enacted into law, the BSKE will be rescheduled from December 1, 2025, to the first Monday of November 2026. /apl