The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the Negros Island Region (NIR) registered 130,378 new voter applicants from August 1 to 10 for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
Negros Occidental led the registration with 78,313 applicants, followed by Negros Oriental with 47,648, and Siquijor with 4,417, Comelec NIR Director Lionel Marco Castillano said on Monday.
Castillano noted an overwhelming number of young voters, aged 15 to 17, who registered for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
He expressed surprise at their eagerness, citing long queues and a young person even fainting in Valencia, Negros Oriental.
Voter registration applications will be reviewed by the Election Registration Boards (ERB) during hearings on August 26. These boards are responsible for approving or disapproving applications to ensure all registrants are qualified voters.
An application is automatically approved if no issues are raised.
Castillano said if the BSKE, currently set for December, is postponed, voter registration would resume in the last week of October and continue until July 2026.
He added that due to the high volume of applicants in Bacolod City, he would request an increase in voter registration machines from three to five to better accommodate the public.*