The Philippines reopened voter registration on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, for the May 2028 National and Local Elections, with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) aiming to add about three million voters over a nine-month registration period.

Registration runs until 30 July 2027 at local Comelec offices and selected malls nationwide, as well as through the poll body's Register Anywhere Program. The drive was launched at Rizal Park in Manila on Tuesday through a Special Register Anywhere Program, running from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until 12 November.

Who can register

The registration covers first-time voters, transfers of voting records, reactivation of deactivated registrations, and correction or updating of personal information. Applicants must be Filipino citizens who meet the qualifications set out in Republic Act No. 8189 and Comelec Resolution No. 10963, and they should bring valid identification. Full details of accepted IDs are published on the Comelec website.

Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the nine-month window is the last registration period for the 2028 elections and urged eligible Filipinos to register early rather than wait for the deadline. Further special registration activities are scheduled at Chino Roces Avenue in Makati City on 19 November and at Far Eastern University in Manila on 24 November.

Why registration opened early

Registration resumed earlier than usual because there is no barangay and youth council election this year. Republic Act No. 12326 sets a five-year term for barangay and youth officials and moves the next Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections to 13 November 2028, instead of 2 November this year.

"This period of nine months from November to July 2027 is our last registration period for the 2028 NLE," Garcia said in an interview on Monday, adding that the poll body hopes to register around three million voters during the period.

Two areas excluded for now

There will be no voter registration in Batanes and Naga City for the time being, as the province and the city will hold a special election and a plebiscite respectively later this month.

Long queues were reported at registration sites on Tuesday as applicants turned up on the first day. Comelec said registration is open from Tuesday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturdays and scheduled holidays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Voters who are already registered do not need to register again unless they need to transfer, reactivate or correct their records.