Transfer your voter registration!

     I've never really looked closely at the logo of the COMELEC before, hmm. 

     Anyway, a quick post to remind kababayans that the deadline for voter registration looms. It is on October 31, 2012.  And like many people, I completely ignored or forgot to do what I had to do until the last minute.  It took the village's reminder, and a realization that I've been in Santa Rosa more than long enough to qualify for a transfer of my records.

     I found an article on the Manila Bulletin published in 2009, when the writer also transferred her records to this city.  She said the process is easy, it just takes a lot of patience.  I know the patience thing from my family, who really suffered the queue in their city. My sister, after standing in line for half the day (and not having gotten to the first step), went home to eat and line up again. I think it even took her two days fo finish. 

    Here are my bullets for you who are also new to Sta. Rosa.

    1.  Go on any day from Monday to Friday. Saturdays they are in barangays.  Saturday October 20 they will be in Bgy. Don Jose.  I don't know what the other schedules are.
        
    2.  The Comelec office is in the Gusaling Batasan...it is the small building across the town/church plaza, across the huge Christmas tree (which has been there ever since my first trip).  This is the building in a past post, which has a statue next to it. The statue is lost among vendor umbrellas.

          If you have your own vehicle, you can park in the church parking lot.

    3.   Go by 8am.  They hand out small slips of paper on which you write your info. These also have your number, which will be called out by a man at the door. He calls in around ten at a time.  They process around 300 per day. They try to do 150 in the morning and 150 in the afternoon. By 11 am, they stop handing out numbers in order to break for lunch at 12. But when I was there, they had people who were already inside, waiting for the last step (photo/fingerpring capture), leave and come back for lunch.  I was number 161 and one of the last to be processed before lunch. Luck.

         Then again a woman past number 170 raised hell, and so the staff simply switched to finish that batch. She was right to do so---it was only 11:15 and they were already inside, right?!  Funny but the men who took the womens' turns at the computers rushed through everything so that it all went much FASTER.  Eh kaya naman pala eh!  I just hope the info typed in was accurate.

   4.   Bring your own ballpen. or ballpens, to be sure.

   5.   Have your TIN with you if you do not. The form requires it.

   6.   The clerks are actually friendly and cheerful. The MB writer was right thou gh---when the woman says you will need a transfer form--the green one---take it. They know better.  (I told her my name was deactivated per the COMELEC online precinct finder, but she looked at her computer and said it was actually on active status. Odd. So all I needed was the green transfer form).  Thank you Ms. Jane Aubrey Nepomuceno for your article.  I kept that tip in mind. I otherwise might have needlessly questioned the clerk! I am sharing your article. http://www.mb.com.ph/node/226547/tip

   7.   Just fill the form within the room. There are desks around you can use. Do not leave the room anymore.  A couple before me did, and when they returned they did not make it to the lunch cut-off.  I don't know if they filled in the form in the library downstairs.

   8.  Capture is the last step--Voter's IDs are not available for claiming for YEARS after the election.

   9. PWD (persons with disability) and Senior citizens are priority.

 10.  The whole process takes approximately an hour.

   Lastly, THINK, BE SMART when going through the process...also be as courteous as the officers.  This is your right, and the vote is yours.  I say this because I did witness odd things...like men from certain offices, going in and out, escorting or coaching new registrants.  Coaching the illiterate is understandable. The forms, in triplicate, can be daunting. But what was he doing pointing certain guys out to the officers.   Registration of voters is in everyone's best interest---of course they all want people to register.  But do not be naive also...there are of course those who need people who register who will vote for THEM.

   Which leads me to...what's with regularly announcing with frustration, for people to put their cellphone numbers at the top of the form?  Is it to contact us to inform us the IDs are ready? To confirm information? I seriously doubt that.

   With all the crap SMS we already get, are they or certain factions going to send us annoying campaign SMS?  Or is someone getting numbers to send "cash loan" sms?  I could have asked there...but it was lunch time and the clerk doing the reminding was declaring her hunger. 

   All I'm saying is, question, too, things like these. 

   There. Hopefully I get to vote in Sta. Rosa city next month.  And before then, I hope to post on the city mayor's website...

   to ask her please naman

   1. the CR (comfort room, restroom) in the Gusaling Batasan is horrible. There is no door handle, just a smashed in hole, with a string, and the door won't even shut.  The floor muddy, wet, toilet rust/brown tinted.  The only good thing was that there was water and a pail to flush with.
Oh, one more tip:  bring a companion--my husband had to guard the CR door for me! 

  2.  We can ask people to donate books for the students in the library who hungrily grabbed at the few children's books in there.  The library is on the ground floor of this building.  The CR is right across it.  It takes just that kind of CR to uninspire and even discourage those students.  How can we expect them to keep clean, with an environment like that. What are we teaching, really?

       I see them, and then the beggar children within the church's parking lot...

       Where is their hope?