By CESAR JOLITO III

A surge of last-minute voter registrants is expected across the Negros Island Region (NIR) as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) confirmed that the voter registration deadline for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) on Monday, May 18 will no longer be extended.

Comelec-NIR Lionel Marco Castillano said Comelec Chairman George Garcia has already ruled out any extension, prompting election offices to brace for heavy turnout on the final two registration days.

“We expect a surge of registrants, especially on Monday,” Castillano said, appealing for patience among those planning to register on the last day.

He said registration centers will remain open on Saturday, May 16, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., while no registration activities will be conducted on Sunday, May 17.

On Monday, the final day of registration, the cut-off will be at 3:00 p.m., although applicants already in line before the deadline will still be processed.

He urged the public not to wait until the final hours, especially in Bacolod City, where Comelec only has five voter registration machines available to accommodate applicants.

Latest data from Comelec-NIR showed that the region has already recorded 3,063,154 regular registered voters as of the April 2026 Election Registration Board hearing, marking a slight 0.13 percent increase from the May 2025 national and local elections.

Negros Occidental remains the most voter-rich province in the region with 1,994,337 registered voters despite a slight decline due to voter purging activities involving inactive, deceased, double-registered, and transferred voters.

Negros Oriental posted 985,623 voters, while Siquijor registered the highest percentage increase at 2.20 percent with 83,194 voters.

Comelec also reported more than one million registered BSKE voters across the region ahead of the polls on November 2./CJ, WDJ