By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Occidental revealed yesterday that the province already has 35,801 newly-registered voters.

Based on data from Comelec-NegOcc elections supervisor Atty. Ian Lee Ananoria, around 11,811 individuals were registered last week, the highest in six weeks following the resumption of voter registration last December.

Ananoria said they are expecting more people to flock to the Comelec office and other satellite registration sites as the deadline of January 31 gets nearer.

He further noted that most of the new registrants at satellite registration sites are those who will take part in the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in October of this year.

The voter registration has been plagued with low turnouts due to the holiday season.

However, numbers quickly grew in the middle of January.

Online registration is also available, but only for those who want their registration to be reactivated for failure to vote in two consecutive elections.

Applicants are advised to bring valid proofs of identification such as National ID (PhilSys), passport, driver’s license, employment ID, student ID or library card signed by the management of the school, senior citizens ID, persons with disability ID, Indigenous Peoples Certificate from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and notarized barangay certification with applicant’s photo and signature.

To qualify as a voter in the barangay election, applicants should be 18 years old and above, and reside in the area where he/she decides to get registered for at least six months prior to election day.

For SK voters, applicants must be 15 to 30 years old, and reside in the area where he/she is planning to get registered for at least six months prior to the day of elections./DGB, WDJ