The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) office in Bohol has suspended its preparations for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and barangay elections.

According to provincial election officer Atty. Eliseo Labaria, he immediately directed personnel of the Bohol COMELEC on Wednesday to stop operations for the said elections.

This, after the House of Representatives, voting 218-4, on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill postponing the barangay and SK polls scheduled Oct. 31, 2016.

None of the congressmen abstained during the voting for the postponement measure or House Bill 3504.

Through the approval, the SK and barangay elections will be held on October 23, 2017 instead.

However, Labaria said that they are still waiting for a formal directive from the COMELEC’s head office regarding the changes.

He noted that the registration for regular voters aged 18 and above next month will still push through.

Registration for the SK has not been scheduled yet.

Labaria said that in their latest count of voters 856,000 have been tallied while they are expecting 50,000 more to become qualified voters as registration will continue.

Since there is more time for registration, it is likely that voters will now be allowed to transfer their registration, he added. (Allen Doydora)