By CESAR JOLITO III

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported a strong turnout in voter registration across the Negros Island Region (NIR), with more than 109,500 applications processed to date — highlighting sustained public engagement ahead of the 2026 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in November.

Data released by the office of the regional election director showed a cumulative total of 109,509 voter registration applications processed across the region.

Negros Occidental accounted for the bulk of registrants with 73,889, followed by Negros Oriental with 33,745, while Siquijor recorded 1,875 applicants.

Women continued to outnumber men among new registrants, with 57,969 female applicants versus 51,540 male applicants regionwide — an indicator, election officials said, of growing female participation in the democratic process.

A notable boost also came from the Register Anywhere Program (RAP), which allows voters to file applications outside their home precincts.

The program logged 664 cumulative applications, led by Dumaguete City with 526, while Bacolod City recorded 138.

No RAP applications were tallied in Siquijor for the overall period.

Momentum intensified in Week 17 (February 9 to 14, 2026), when the region processed 11,196 new applications — a significant weekly spike.

Negros Occidental again led with 7,194, followed by Negros Oriental with 3,748, and Siquijor with 254.

During the same week, RAP activity rose to 283 applications, with Dumaguete City handling the majority.

Siquijor posted an unusual trend for the week, recording 180 RAP applications — all from female registrants./CJ, WDJ