“As a response to the growing threat to public health posed by #COVID19, #VoterReg2020 has been suspended by the COMELEC until the 31st of March 2020,” said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez in a Twitter post.
“The suspension will take effect nationwide tomorrow. The public is advised to take all necessary precaution,” he added.
Voter registration for the May 2022 elections resumed on January 20 and was originally slated to run until September 30, 2021.
Over the weekend, President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of public health emergency after the Department of Health confirmed the first case of local transmission of COVID-19. A 62-year-old man from Cainta, Rizal, who did not have recent travel history to other countries, has tested positive for coronavirus.
Under Republic Act 11332, a public health emergency refers to an “occurrence of an imminent threat of an illness or health condition which could pose a high probability of a large number of deaths… widespread exposure to an infectious agent.”
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 9) — The Commission on Elections on Monday has announced the cancellation of voter registration from March 10 to March 31 amid the sudden jump in the cases of coronavirus disease or COVID-19 in the country.
