Nearly 1 million Filipinos have registered for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) since registration opened 1 August, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced Wednesday.
Comelec chairperson George Garcia said the “surprising” number of registrants in the first five days was a historic high for the poll body.
“We were surprised, but we were very happy because who would have thought that in five days, we would receive nearly a million registrants,” Garcia said. “There’s never been anything like that in the history of Comelec.”
Garcia expressed gratitude to government agencies and the private sector for their help in the registration drive.
“We are grateful to all government agencies, such as the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and other private sectors that are joining us in this registration,” said Garcia. “To our fellow countrymen, thank you very much to all of you.”
The 10-day nationwide voter registration is set to continue despite the postponement of this year’s BSKE, which was originally scheduled for December. The Comelec is initially targeting one- million new voters.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is expected to sign into law a bill on 12 August that would reschedule the 2025 BSKE to December 2026.
Garcia previously said the Comelec would continue its preparations for the elections, including the procurement of 60,000 ballot boxes and other materials, despite the postponement.
The registration of each applicant will still undergo a hearing by the Election Registration Board in each town and city.