THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will hold simultaneous voter registration activities on Wednesday and Thursday for eligible persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) detained in facilities under the Bureau of Correction (BuCor) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
The poll body said the nationwide special voter list-up is in relation to the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
The Comelec said that an estimated 5,000 PDLs are projected to benefit from the special satellite voter registration activities.
The ceremonial kick-off of the event will be held at the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, where 3,015 inmates are expected to register.
The Comelec said other facilities with eligible PDLs are the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City (679), Leyte Regional Prison (437), Davao Prison and Penal Farm (360), Zamboanga Prison and Penal Farm (208), Correctional Institution for Women in Panabo (94), Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (66), and Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (48).
Last year, the Supreme Court (SC) lifted the 2016 temporary restraining order issued against the Comelec’s resolution allowing PDLs to register and vote during elections.
As a result, PDLs, who are confined in jail, formally charged for any crime/s and awaiting/undergoing trial, may register as voters.
Also eligible to register are those serving a sentence of imprisonment for less than one year.
Lastly, also qualified to register are those whose conviction of a crime involving disloyalty to the duly constituted government, such as rebellion, sedition, violation of the firearms laws, or any crime against national security or for any other crime, is on appeal.
