MANILA - The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on Wednesday has asked the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to issue guidelines to allow employees to register as voters even on weekdays - and that the time they spent registering be considered official time.

The COMELEC, in a statement, said the suggestion covers private and public employees, so that they may be able to register as voters for the 2010 national elections.

COMELEC Resolution No. 8669, dated September 15, requested DOLE "to issue the appropriate circular/guidelines urging private employers to allow their employees to file their applications for registration, transfer/reactivation, changes/correction/inclusions/reinstatement of entries of registration records even during weekdays, and to consider their temporary absence from work on official time."

Meanwhile, the COMELEC in Resolution 8668, said that "government employees who as first time voters, or who desire to transfer/reactivate/correct/change/reinstate their registration records, deserve broader opportunities to exercise their right to suffrage through the filing of their applications for registration/transfer/reactivation/correction/change/reinstatement of registration records during weekdays."

The move, said COMELEC spokesman James Jimenez, showed the agency's "resolve to empower [the] broadest number of workers... by making sure that they will be able to cast their votes in the 2010 elections."

as of 09/16/2009 11:08 PM