The Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Bacolod City has extended its voter registration hours to boost the number of voter applicants for the 2022 elections.

According to city Comelec officer Kathrina Caña, from the previous 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. schedule of accepting the application for the voter registration, the central office has allowed them to extend it to 7:00 p.m.

But due to the COVID-19 pandemic wherein the city is under the general community quarantine with heightened restrictions status, Caña said the Comelec-Bacolod office can only accommodate around 400 applicants per day, adding they only have two capturing machines to process the applications.

She added that voter registration at the city’s satellite registration centers remains at 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Comelec central office on Wednesday, September 1, approved voter registration in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) like Iloilo city and province.

“Comelec en banc just now approves the conduct of registration, from 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in areas under MECQ, starting September 6, 2021,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said.

Jimenez added that in-mall voter registration will also be allowed.

The nationwide voter registration for the May 2022 elections is scheduled to end on September 30./WDJ