Senators filed the Senate Bill No. 2408 on Monday that seeks to extend the voter registration period until October 31, 2021 for the 2022 national elections.

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is being compelled to extend the voting period despite rejecting this call last August. 

“The commission is concerned that if we delay the end of voter registration, it will also cause corresponding delays in all other preparatory activities, especially those that depend on the finalization of the list of voters. That will have the potential to adversely affect the timelines in the preparations for the presidential elections,” said COMELEC spokesperson James Jimenez in a virtual briefing.

However, Senators argued that since the registration period in the past six months was severely affected by COVID-19 pandemic due to several lockdowns and registration being on hold in some areas under enhanced community quarantine and modified ECQ, not a lot of people were able to register. Voter registration can only be held in areas under general community quarantine and modified GCQ.

“Given the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic, it is necessary to extend the voter registration, in order to give unregistered Filipinos of voting age ample time to register, and eventually exercise their constitutional right to vote,” they said. The Senate also claims that even the Filipino people are asking for an extension due to the continued suspension of voter registration.

Instead, the commission agreed to extend voting hours and open the registration on Saturdays and holidays to consider the demand of the Filipino people for the extension.