Manila: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday the early voting hours policy for the members of the vulnerable sector in the 2025 midterm elections would be implemented nationwide. Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the decision came after the measure's successful pilot testing during the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections. "Come the 2025 elections, we will already allow the elderly, persons with disability, pregnant women nationwide to vote exclusively between 5 a.m. until 7 a.m.," he said in a radio interview. He said the early voting hours is expected to benefit the vulnerable sector since they would be casting their votes hours ahead of the general population. "They will greatly benefit from this since it is not yet hot outside and there are not too many people in the polling precincts yet. When we pilot tested this during the BSKE, as early as 3 a.m., there are already senior citizens lining up to vote," Garcia said. He, however, said the early voting is just optio nal. "If they still want to vote by 7 a.m. onwards, that's fine," he said. During the pilot testing of the measure in the recent BSKE, persons with disability, senior citizens, and heavily pregnant women in Naga City and Muntinlupa City were allowed to vote between 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Source: Philippines News Agency