The registration for new voters for the 2010 elections ends on October 31, but Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan is asking the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to extend it.
According to the lawmaker, who personally spoke to PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) last night, October 16, during the Rock the Vote concert held at B. Gonzales St. corner Katipunan Ave. in Quezon City, many young voters are still planning to register, but may not make it to the deadline.
"The clamor comes from the knowledge that next year's election is extremely important. Natutuwa tayo at nanggagaling na mismo sa ating mga kababayan ang inisyatibo na makiisa sa proseso ng halalan."
Sen. Pangilinan said this should persuade the Comelec to either extend the deadline up to next month, or if that's not possible, to extend the office hours in registration stations around the country.
Registration stations are located in each local Comelec office in every municipality. Registration is open from Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"Alam naman natin ang Pilipino, mahilig sa last minute. Kaya ang panawagan ko sa Comelec, i-extend ang hours between now and October 31, tapos i-extend pa natin hanggang November," he said.
SURVEY SAYS AQUINO IN THE LEAD. Last September, Senator Pangilinan withdrew his plan to run for vice-president to be an active supporter in the Senator Noynoy Aquino-Senator Mar Roxas campaign. He is helping their camp to emulate the successful "nontraditional" campaign he used when he won the elections in 2007.
By "nontraditional" he means not relying on big-name backers and businessmen to fund their nationwide campaign.
"Yun ang magiging kontribusyon natin: paano maipanalo ang isang kandidatura na ang masasandalan ay ang taumbayan at hindi malalaking pera at malalaking negosyante," he explained.
And this campaign strategy is working well, he said. As proof, a Social Weather Stations survey released this week showed Aquino in the lead, garnering 60 percent of the total survey results. The nearest contender was Senator Manuel "Manny" Villar, who received 37 percent.
The survey result showed Aquino receiving the high vote despite few appearances in the media as opposed to other aspirants who have television ads.
"'Yan ay pakita na ang mga kababayan natin ang hinahangad yung malinis, yung tapat, at maayos na pamamahala. Sampung taon nang nagkaroon ng krisis sa ating gobyerno mula jueteng, impeachment trial, Hello Garci, ZTE... So isang dekadang pananabik sa pagbabago sa gobyerno," Sen. Pangilinan stressed.