VOTERS' REGISTRATION EXTENDED UNTIL JAN 9, 2010
The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday extended registration of voters for the May 10, 2010 elections until January 9, 2010. In a nine-page unanimous decision penned by Associate Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, the Court en banc granted the petition filed by Kabataan party-list led by Raymond Palatino seeking to declare null and void Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 8585, which shortened the deadline of voters registration to October 31, 2009, instead of December 15, 2009, as previously fixed by Comelec Resolution No. 8514. The Court said the decision is immediately executory. The Comelec earlier set the deadline for voters' registration to October 31 due to the demands of poll automation. In its decision, the Supreme Court said the people’s right to suffrage “is at the heart of our constitutional democracy." It said the Comelec has no valid ground to justify its non-compliance to the system of continuing voter registration mandated under Section 8 of Repub...