Long lines of registrants for the Barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan elections were a common site at COMELEC offices in Bacolod City and throughout Negros Occidental yesterday.

Registrants waiting in line from the Bacolod BAYS Center all the way to SM City yesterday complained about the slow pace of the registration process.

Yesterday was the last day of registration and no extension had been ordered by the COMELEC head office, Jessie Suarez, Negros Occidental elections supervisor, said.

But although yesterday was the last day of registration applications of those who were waiting in line were to be taken even if biometric data capturing on them had not been undertaken, he said.

Those whose applications were submitted as of deadline time yesterday but who had not had their biometric data captured will be given schedules on when to return for that purpose, Suarez said.

Data capturing will be conducted until July 28, he said.

Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella yesterday said he will request the COMELEC to extend the registration of new voters for the Barangay and SK to two weeks.

This registration of voters for the Barangay and SK elections in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City was hampered by the lack of data capturing computers, Suarez and Bacolod registrar Mavil Majarucon had said earlier.

The registration started July 15 and ended yesterday when hundreds continued to flock to the COMELEC Bacolod Office to register.

Radio reports said a truckload of registrants arrived at the BAYS Center as early as 4-5 a.m. Saturday.

Puentevella said he will write COMELEC chairman Benjamin Abalos requesting him to extend the registration to accommodate all the new registrants for the Barangay and SK elections and to check why some of the data capturing machines are defective.

But Puentevella also said he believes there are more chances that the barangay elections this year will be postponed to next year.

He said this is because Cebu Rep. Ed Gullas has a pending bill in the House of Representatives that provides that no two elections must be held in the same year. The COMELEC has scheduled synchronized Barangay and SK elections on Oct. 29.

Majarucon said the COMELEC only has one functioning data-capturing machine in Bacolod City and the one she requested from COMELEC Manila to replace their other unit, which has a problem with its peripherals, has a defective camera.

She said they have many applicants but her office cannot accommodate all of them because they are constrained by the output of the Data Capturing System. *CGS

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