VOTER REGISTRATION is a requirement for any qualified Filipino citizen who wishes to vote in any Philippine election.
It has been defined by Republic Act No. 8189 as "the act of accomplishing and filing of a sworn application for registration by a qualified voter before the election officer of the city or municipality wherein he [or she] resides and including the same in the book of registered voters upon approval by the Election Registration Board."
Elements of the Registration Application Process
- Accomplishing an Application Form for Registration (AFR) does NOT automatically make an applicant a registered voter.
He (or she) needs to file the accomplished Application Form by going to the local COMELEC office to personally file it before the Election Officer (EO), who is the COMELEC's local representative in each city and municipality.
- Filing the accomplished AFR before the EO still does NOT make an applicant a registered voter.
His (or her) Application has to be approved by the Election Registration Board (ERB), which meets once every quarter only.
- When the filed accomplished AFR is approved by the Election Registration Board (ERB), the process of becoming a registered voter is almost complete.
The ERB has to approve the applications of all qualified applicants during its scheduled quarterly hearings.
By law, these ERB hearings happen only four (4) times a year -- on the third Monday of April, July, October and January of every calendar year.
- The inclusion of the ERB-approved AFR in the Book of Voters (BOV) of the city/municipality/district completes the process of voter registration.
After the ERB hearing, the EO has to include the approved AFR in the Book of Registered Voters, together with all the other registered voters in the city, municipality or HUC district.
The concerned voter registration applicant is finally considered a registered voter of the concerned locality.
