The Commission on Elections (Comelec) continues to purge its list of registered voters as a measure to ensure honest polls next year, the provincial election supervisor here said on Tuesday.

Lawyer Gilbert Almario said they check on possible double registrations and other anomalies to come up with a clean list of voters.

“Makikita pa rin ito although inalis na ito sa opisina ng election officer at inilagay sa provincial office pero still sinisigurado na makikita doon ang mga nagfile ng application. Makikita ang mga may existing application sa ibang lugar (It can still be seen although it has been removed from the office of the election officer and placed in the provincial office but still making sure that those who filed the application can be seen there. Existing applications elsewhere can be found),” he said in an interview.

Almario said this is one way of cleaning the voters’ list after being scrutinized by the Election Registration Board (ERB).

“After verification by the ERB, ibabalik ang mga listahan sa opisina ng election officer at makikita doon ang mga may application sa ibang lugar kaya doon mape-prevent ang double registration (After verification by the ERB, the lists will be returned to the office of the election officer and those with applications will be found elsewhere so that double registration can be prevented),” he said.

Almario issued his statements during the introduction of a mobile application for voters’ registration in areas where online list-up is not available due to an absence of internet connection.

In the province, mobile registration of voters using only a cellphone can be done only in the town of Bagac.

“Doon ida-download nila ang Comelec application sa website at ang kanilang mga information ay ita-type lang nila katulad ng sa application form at after makumpleto ang proseso ay dadalhin nila ito sa office ng election officer dahil may QR code yon (They will download the Comelec application on the website and they will just type their information as in the application form and after completing the process, they will bring it to the office of the election officer because it has a QR code,” Almario said.

The election officer will then print the application form of the registrant after scanning the QR code, he added.

Almario said applicants do not have to form long lines to secure an application form although they still have to appear in the Comelec municipal office.

“Ang pagkakaiba ng Bagac sa ibang bayan ng Bataan ay sa mobile app na dadalhin ng registrant ang cellphone sa municipal office ng Comelec samantalang ang sa 11 municipalities na may internet access ay nasa bahay lang ang aplikante, magta-type sila sa cellphone at isesend ito (The difference between Bagac and other towns in Bataan is that in the mobile app, the registrant takes the cellphone to the municipal office of the Comelec while in the 11 municipalities with internet access the applicant is only at home, they type on the cellphone and send it),” he said.

The “I-rehistro” or online registration, on the other hand, is available in the towns of Dinalupihan, Hermosa, Orani, Samal, Abucay, Pilar, Orion,Limay, Mariveles and Morong and Balanga City.

Almario said as of April 19, there are 513,692 registered voters in the province and registration is still going on until Sept. 30, 2021.

He urged the people to register while observing safety and health protocols against the coronavirus disease 2019. (PNA)