Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections has extended the deadline for the filing of applications for transfer of registration records from overseas to the Philippines to September 30.
The poll body announced in a statement on Saturday that “the deadline for filing of application for transfer of registration record from overseas to the Philippines with the Office of the Election Officer (OEO) has been moved to September 30, 2021, to coincide with the local voter registration deadline.”
The initial deadline for the transfer of records was on August 31.
“The Commission en Banc recognizes the need to prevent the disenfranchisement of a great number of our kababayans who have been unexpectedly repatriated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hence the decision to extend the deadline,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.
“If they will be in the Philippines on election day, then they can still exercise their right of suffrage by casting their ballot here,” he added.
Comelec said the following types of application will still be accepted by the OEOs:
– Transfer from post to the same city, municipality, or district
– Transfer from post to a city, municipality, or district other than their voter’s residence
Meanwhile, the Comelec Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) in Intramuros, Manila and the local field registration centers will no longer accept the above-mentioned types of application, but will still accept the following types of application:
– Registration or certification
– Recapture of biometrics
– Transfer from post to post, or from country to country
– Reinstatement
– Change of name due to marriage or court order/correction of entries
– Reactivation
– Change of address (within the same post and country)
– Updating of photograph and/or signature
– Request to withdraw the application for registration/certification pending approval.
The poll body said the applicant for transfer of records from overseas to the Philippines must be a resident of the locality where he or she will vote in the 2022 polls, and must personally file the application with the OEO of his or her locality.
The deadline for all other types of application for local and overseas voters is on September 30, according to Comelec.
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