Pangasinan voters at 1.4M in updated list
200,000 VOTERS PURGED
REGISTERED voters in Pangasinan, one of the highest among provinces nationwide, now stand at 1.4 million, down from 1.6 million as of the national and local election last May 10, 2010, following a clean-up of the list by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Provincial elections supervisor Temy Lambino explained that the reduction is due to the removal of double or multiple registrants from the roster of voters in the 44 towns and four cities of Pangasinan.
Lambino, who is due to move to the Central Visayas as regional director, said the fingerprint identification system was used to purge some 200,000 voters who had more than one registration.
“In the fingerprint identification system, we can search if one had double or multiple registrations. This means that even if one changes his face or personal data, one can not alter his or her own fingerprints,” he said.
Others that were removed from the list are those that transferred and registered to another area as well as those who were de-activated for failure to vote twice in a row, in the May 10, 2010 election and in the October 25, 2010 barangay election.
Under the law, voters who failed to participate in two successive elections will be de-activated later they were notified by the Comelec. A voter can seek re-activation upon receipt of the notice by registering again at the Comelec office in their area.
NEW VOTERS
Meanwhile, the registration for new voters is ongoing at all Comelec offices and will be open until October 31 this year for the mid-term election on May 13 next year.
Qualified to register are those who will turn 18 on or before May 13, 2013.
The Comelec will also conduct satellite registration in the barangays.
Filing of candidacy set October 1-5
CALASIAO–Candidates for the May 13, 2013 mid-term election will have to file their certificates of candidacy as early as the first week of October this year.
Temie Lambino, provincial elections officer of Pangasinan, said Resolution No. 93-85 of the Comelec en banc set the filing of certificates of candidacy from October 1 to 5, 2012, which is three months earlier than the previous deadline for filing set in the May 10, 2010 polls.
He said one of the reasons for the advancement of the date is the anticipation of a number of motions for disqualification.
The Comelec has a December 31 deadline for the final list of candidates, giving it two months to decide all disqualification cases.
Twelve senatorial seats, congressional representatives, and local government positions will be decided by the 2013 polls.
The Comelec resolution also set the campaign period for senators from February 12 to May 11 while the rest are given from March 29 to May 11.
The May 2013 election, just like the 2010 national and local elections, will be automated and the printed ballots will contain all the candidates’ names.
NOT AUTOMATIC
Lambino also stressed that based on the decision of the Supreme Court in Quinto vs. Comelec, the filing of a certificate of candidacy does not automatically qualify one as an official candidate.
He also clarified that there are other dates set for the substitution of candidates due to total incapacity and death.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
