As youths and new registrants endure long lines to register for the 2010 polls, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino today questioned the legality of the Commission on Election’s shortening of the period of continuing registration up to tomorrow October 31.

Palatino today filed a Petition for Certiorari and Mandamus with Application for Preliminary Mandatory Injunction before the Supreme Court today. The full text of the petition may be read at http://tinyurl.com/yhyqwov.

Other petitioners were Jade Charmane Rose Valenzuela, Jacqueline Alexis Merced, Ana Katrina Tejero, Kenneth Carlisle Earl Eugenio and Victor Louis Crisostomo, all first-time-voters who tried but failed to register due various reasons; and Alvin Peters, president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), Vijae Alquisola, president of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), Ken Leonard Ramos, chairperson of Anakbayan, and, Ma. Cristina Angela Guevarra, chairperson of the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP).

The petitioners stated that the Comelec violated the people’s right to register and, thus, right of suffrage, when it issued and implemented Comelec Resolution No. 8585, dated February 12, 2009, fixing the deadline of application of registration of voters on October 31, 2009, more than two months earlier than is prescribed by Republic Act. No. 8189 or The Voters Registration Act of 1996.

Under RA 8189, the pertinent provision on the period of registration states, “No registration shall…be conducted during the period starting 120 days before a regular election and 90 days before a special election.”

Palatino also said that the Comelec has committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction for ‘usurping the legislative powers of Congress.’

“The Comelec, therefore, in its issuances and despite appeals by several sectors to extend voter registration has shortened the period contrary to what is mandated by law. Only Congress can amend the deadline of continuing registration, Comelec has no discretion nor power to do so,” he said.

Palatino also added that calls to extend voter registration are more reasonable, practical and justifiable in light of the recent onslaught of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, as well as the limited number of registrants Comelec offices can accommodate in a day and unavailability of satellite registration sites, among others.

Citing National Statistics Office data, he said that the Comelec will disenfranchise roughly four (4) million first-time-voters if it ends registration period tomorrow.

NSO data shows that there are 3.8 million first-time-voters from age group 18 to 19 alone, while half of the 8.8 million in the age group 20 to 24 may be projected as new registrants for 2010. “Based from this data, we can roughly project at least seven (7) million first-time-voters for 2010.”

Earlier, Palatino filed House Resolutions 1162, directing the Comelec to return the deadline for voter registration to its original deadline of December 2009; HR 1443, calling to extend voter registration for those affected by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng; and, HR 1336, calling for a one-day leave with pay for employees’ voter registration. ###