DAVAO CITY , Philippines – Mostly young Filipino voters went in droves clogging all voters’ registration stations spread across the city on the last day of voters’ registration on September 29, as the Commission on Elections noted a sharp increase in the number of application.
As temperature rise In the Comelec offices and satellite registration centers, voters lodged several complaints of slow service, long queues and unattended lines but the Comelec shut down all appeals for extension, saying that would-be voters failed or did not heed calls for registration that began on July.
The third district of this city alone, it welcomed 10,185 new voter registrants, which was 42 percent of the total applications of the District. This district has 82 barangays, from out of the 182 barangays of the city
In an interview with Menchie A. Mamukid, District III acting election officer IV, she said her expected new voters’ turnout to be only 7,000 to 8,000, but actual turnout exceeded 10,000.
“Sobrang lampas kasi kung iko-compare natin sa last registration, 1,800 lang yung total for new registration. Eh ngayon, 10,000. Ang laki…sobrang laki (The numbers really went beyond the expected. If we compare it to the last registration, there was only a total of 1,800 for new registration. But now, it’s 10,000. It’s huge…tremendously huge),” Mamukid said.
Nelita Gil-Gestosani, first district election officer, also reported similar trend. She said the turnout was especially high among senior high school students and first time voters, as indicated in its satellite registration at the Ateneo de Davao University in the downtown area and at the Davao Central College in Toril.
“It so happened that Ateneo launched its Blue Vote so it was well timed,” she said.
Including the turnout at the other satellite stations, the first district targeted only two percent addition from its 369,962 voters, or almost 7,000 new registrants. The turnout exceeded 24,000, or 8 percent.
The second district also reported exceeding expectations of the number of registration, eventually posting 22,087 registrants, said election officer, Jerry T. Mujal. This number was also about 8 percent of the total number of voters of 280,000.
“It’s more than two percent from target,” he said.
He said it was already impossible to accommodate the estimated crowd of 3,000 still lingering at the Comelec office shortly before it closed the registration on Septermber 29. “They just came in big numbers.”
Mamukid credited the exceeding turnout it to their efforts to reach out to more constituents in conducting satellite registrations in both barangays and schools.
“Siguro kasi mas lumapit kami sa immediate vicinities ng mga botante kaya mas nagiging convenient sa part nila kaya mas marami talaga ang mga nagparegister. At siyempre, facilitated na din ng pag-assist ng mga barangay officials (Perhaps it is because we went near to the immediate vicinities of the voters that it became convenient for them. Thus, more people really registered. And also, facilitated by the assistance of the barangay officials),” Mamukid said.
Mamukid said they allocated their office working hours on Tuesdays to Saturdays to man the satellite registration areas, leaving only the Monday for walk-in registrants. Registrations continued even on holidays.
Despite these, Mamukid admitted that they were unable to completely go over all the 82 barangays due to lack of manpower and the limited time frame for the registration period. In fact, she testified that this year’s 3-month voter registration period is one of the shortest that the COMELEC conducted. Besides, she said that there were registration periods that lasted for almost a year.
But more importantly, Mamukid pointed out that the greatest problem they encountered was the surge of registrants on the last day. It exceeded their capacity both in computer systems and man power assistance, thus, many did not make it to the cut.
The numbers were overwhelming compared to the first day of registration when only 85 people registered.
“Kung kalian last day, dumarami. How I wish sa first week pa lang, pumupunta na sila (It only gets a lot when it is the last day already. How I wish people start going on the first week),” Mamukid stated.
The National Voters Registration period covered the period July 2 until September 29. Ma. Daniella B. Meking, AdDU intern
