National and Local Elections 2013

Posted on Sep 30, 2012

Ballot Boxes
Photo by: Keith Bacongco

Only a few months to go and it will be time to elect our national and local officials again. If you haven’t registered to become a voter yet, this post may help tell you what you need to do and where you need to go.

Election Date

May 13, 2013

Deadline for Voter’s Registration

October 31, 2012

Registration Center

Office of the Election Officer

City Hall Annex Building, Brgy. Isabang, Lucena City

Qualifications

To become a registered voter, the applicant must satisfy the following requirements:

• Applicant must be a Filipino citizen
• Applicant must at least be 18 years old
• Applicant must have lived in the Philippines for at least 1 year
• Applicant must have lived for at least 6 months in the place where he or she intends to vote
• Not otherwise disqualified by law

Disqualified Applicants

You may be disqualified from filing if you are any one of the following:

• Any person who has been sentenced by final judgment to suffer imprisonment for not less than one (1) year, such disability not having been removed by plenary pardon or amnesty
• Any person who has been adjudged by final judgment by a competent court or tribunal of having committed any crime involving disloyalty to the duly-constituted government, such as, rebellion, insurrection, violation of the firearms laws, or any crime against national security unless restored to his full civil and political rights in accordance with law
• Insane or incompetent person as declared by competent authority unless subsequently declared by proper authority that such person is no longer insane or incompetent

Registration Requirements

• Employees identification card (ID) with the signature of the employer or authorized representative
• Postal ID
• Students ID or library card, signed by the school authority
• Senior Citizens ID
• Drivers license
• NBI/PNP clearance
• Passport
• SSS/GSIS ID
• Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) ID
• License issued by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC)
• Any other valid ID

Registration Procedure

• Personally appear before the Election Officer at the COMELEC office
• Fill out a voter’s application form which should be available free of charge
• Bring any of the valid IDs mentioned above (photocopy and original)

Note: Community Tax Certificates (cedula) or certifications/ identification cards issued by barangay officials shall not be honored as valid identification documents.

Things to Note

• Accomplishing an application does not automatically mean that an applicant becomes a registered voter. He (or she) needs to file the accomplished Application Form by personally submitting it before the Election Officer (EO).

• Application has to be approved by the Election Registration Board (ERB), which meets once every quarter only – on the third Monday of April, July, October and January of every calendar year for the applicant to become a registered voter.

• Existing registered voters should make sure that their registration records have not been deactivated by failing to vote in two consecutive regular elections – e.g. the 2010 Barangay Elections, and the 2010 National and Local Elections. You may use the Precinct Finder facility in this website to verify the status of your registration. Deactivated voters may file an application for the reactivation of their registration records.

• Applications for transfer of registration record (for those who have moved to another place of residence), for change of name (for those who have legally changed names, such as single female voters who got married), and for correction of entries (such as for a change of civil status, and other entries in the registration record) may also be applied for within the above-mentioned period.

• Old registered voters who have not yet had their biometrics information digitally captured may file for an application for validation, which would enable their photographs, fingerprints and signatures taken using the Voter Registration Machine (VRM). These biometrics information are needed for the printing and issuance of the Voter’s ID card.

 Voter Validation

Before applicants can get their Voter’s ID, they will need to undergo validation first. To do this, a voter-applicant only needs to personally appear at the local COMELEC office in the district, city or municipality where he (or she) is registered in order for his (or her) biometrics to be captured. The voter will be subjected to the usual screening process to verify his (or her) identity.

Once a registered voter’s record has already been validated – meaning it already has biometrics data, and it has already been submitted to the COMELEC main office in Manila, the Voter ID card for the concerned voter may already be processed for printing purposes.

Contact Information

Aniceta Laceda

Office of the Election Officer

City Hall Annex Building, Brgy. Isabang, Lucena City

042-710-4769