TACLOBAN CITY — Nearly 4.7 million voters are registered in Eastern Visayas for the scheduled Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), even as the fate of the November polls remains uncertain amid a Senate-approved postponement measure.
Comelec Eastern Visayas Regional Director Atty. Jose Nick Mendros said the region has 4,699,030 registered voters for the proposed 2026 BSKE.
Of the total, 3,447,133 are aged 18 and above and eligible to vote in the barangay elections, while 1,251,897 are aged 15 to 30 and eligible to participate in the SK elections.
Mendros said the registration figures did not show unusual increases in any municipality that could indicate a possible “hakot” or mass registration scheme.
He said the number of registered voters remained relatively stable despite the addition of nearly 200,000 new voters, as the increase was offset by the deactivation of voters from the rolls.
These included voters who failed to participate in elections, those identified through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, and those who transferred their registration to other areas, Mendros said during his appearance before the weekly media forum ‘ Integrity Media Network (IMNet) held at the Madison Hotel and Resort, this city.
The voter figures were released as Congress considers a proposal to postpone the scheduled Nov. 2, 2026 BSKE.
The Senate on Sept. 14 approved on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 2387, which seeks to extend the terms of barangay and SK officials from four to five years. The measure would move the next BSKE to November 2028 if enacted into law. The Senate vote was 13-5.
The measure still has to undergo the remaining legislative process, including action by the House of Representatives, before it can be transmitted to Malacañang for possible presidential approval.
Meanwhile, Comelec continues to prepare for the scheduled elections while Congress deliberates on the proposed postponement. The poll body has called on Congress to settle the issue ahead of key preparations for the November elections.
Mendros also said Comelec is seeking funding from Congress for a more comprehensive automated biometric identification system to strengthen the voter registration database and prevent multiple registrations.
The proposed system would use fingerprints from all fingers, facial recognition and iris scanning to improve voter verification and help detect duplicate or multiple registrations.
Mendros said the initiative is intended to strengthen the integrity of the voters’ database and provide a more reliable system for verifying voters.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
