QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be sticking to the deadline it has set for voter registration which is Jan. 31 and told the public not to expect an extension.

“The deadline will be Jan. 31. Come out and register,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said in a media interview.

Garcia said under ordinary circumstances, it is really not a good idea to always extend if there is a deadline, so the poll body will be sticking to the Jan. 31 deadline. 

“There should be no more excuses for people not to register,” he said. 

“All our Comelec offices nationwide are open to accept Mondays to Saturdays. So again, this is an appeal to our people, please register as a voter,” Garcia said.

He also explained that given the current circumstances, they cannot think of any reason for an extension of the deadline since they have fully informed the people regarding the registration. 

Garcia mentioned that they only suspended voter registration in some areas due to flooding and they can grant an extension given that scenario. 

A total of 1,028,000 have registered so far, he said. 

The poll chief added that they are hoping to get 1.5 million to 2 million registrants in the whole voting period from Dec. 12 to Jan. 31. (PIA-NCR)