Cebu (CNN Philippines, October 31) — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Central Visayas has recommended the expansion of mall-based voting in Metro Cebu for the 2025 national and local elections.
Comelec-7 director Lionel Marco Castillano said the pilot test areas in the recent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) proved to be successful and convenient for voters.
Castillano said that he would wish that aside from SM and Robinsons malls, the voting could be expanded even to the malls of the Gaisano Group and even with Ayala Center “should they wish to offer their malls.We were a pilot area because it was the plan of our (Comelec) chairman that we will impose this in 2025,” Castillano told a press briefing during the BSKE.We want to widen our scope (in 2025)..” he also said. “Maybe just like our mall voter registrations, we could include the Gaisano Group and others.During the BSKE, two malls participated in the pilot test of mall voting in Cebu including SM Consolacion for voters in Barangay Pitogo in Consolacion town.
The other mall-based voting was at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu for voters from Barangay Pari-an in Cebu City.
Maybe next time in 2025, this may be wider in scope in line with the commission’s mission and vision of enhancing the voting experience,” Castillano said.It is easy to place their security coverage in the malls, according to Col. Erwin Rommel Lamzon of the Joint Task Group Cebu of the Philippine Army.
