• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Commission on Elections Regional Election Director Lionel Marco Castillano yesterday said that voter registration in Negros Island Region will end on May 18, with no extension to be granted by the poll body.
Castillano expects a heavy turnout of registrants during the remaining days of registration, especially on the last day, as registrants rush to beat the deadline.
The Comelec announced that the registration activities will continue on May 16, but there will be none on the following day, a Sunday. On the final day of registration on May 18, applicants will be accommodated only until 5 p.m., although those already in line by 3 p.m. will still be processed by the Commission on Elections.
In preparation for the expected influx of applicants, Castillano said the Commission on Elections in Bacolod and Negros Occidental has coordinated with local police authorities to ensure peace and order in registration centers.
He also appealed for patience among Negrense voter applicants, citing the limited number of voter registration machines and personnel available in registration sites.
“We only have five voter registration machines in Bacolod and a limited number of personnel,” Castillano said, adding that applicants also undergo interviews before registration processing.
Castillano disclosed that around 100,000 voters in Negros Occidental were removed from the voters’ list as part of the continuing cleansing conducted by the Commission on Elections.
Despite the removal of voters during the January and April Election Registration Board (ERB) hearings this year, Negros Occidental remains the most voter-rich province in the Negros Island Region, with 1,994,337 regular voters.
The figure reflects a slight decrease of 0.37 percent from the 2,001,732 registered voters recorded during the May 2025 elections.
Castillano said the decline came despite the steady influx of new registrants, as the poll body continues to purge inactive and disqualified voters from the list.*
