By Dale G. Israel
Cebu Daily News First Posted 10:10:00 10/19/2009
Filed Under: Eleksyon 2010, Elections
THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) in Lapu-Lapu City has hit a record high in the number of registrations processed in a day last week, said its new Elections Supervisor Ferdinand Gujilde.
On Thursday last week, the office registered 425 new voters, the most that the office ever entertained in a single day, Gujilde said.
The election officer said he expected hundreds more new voters to register in the coming days as the last day of registration, Oct. 30, approaches.
The city, which was classified “highly urbanized” last year, has a voting population of 151,815 for the 2010 elections, according to 2009 figures from the National Statistics Coordination Board.
Gujilde, who was previously assigned as election officer of neighboring Mandaue City, assumed his new position in Lapu-Lapu last Oct. 3. He replaced Ann Janette Hu Lamban, who was transferred to the neighboring town of Cordova.
Gujilde said registration is open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. the entire week, including Saturday and Sunday.
Lapu-Lapu is expected to add new elected posts in the 2010 elections with the expected approval of the bill that creates a congressional district for Lapu-Lapu City. The bill, already approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate, still needs the approval of the President.
Approval of the bill would mean that two more seats would be added to the City Council, while city residents would also have to choose a House representative.
Gujilde said his reassignment to Lapu-Lapu City from Mandaue is part of normal procedure based on the Omnibus Election Code, which requires election supervisors to transfer after four years of serving in a particular election office.
Gujilde’s post in Mandaue was taken over by his wife, Ana Fleur Gujilde, who was transferred from the town of Consolacion.
