The Commission on Elections (Comelec)  has suspended voter registration due to the increasing number of coronavirus disease 2019  (COVID-19) cases in the country.

“As a response to the growing threat to public health posed by COVID19, VoterReg2020 has been suspended by the COMELEC until the 31st of March 2020,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said on  Monday.

Jimenez said the suspension will take effect nationwide on Tuesday, March 10, 2020.

“The suspension will take effect nationwide tomorrow. The public is advised to take all necessary precaution,” said Jimenez.

The voter registration period started on January 20, 2020 and was originally scheduled to run until September 30, 2021.

The Philippines currently has 10 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.

The development came after President Rodrigo Duterte placed the country under a state of public health emergency to stop the spread of the virus  that has killed 3,500 and infected 109,000 people worldwide. /Stacy Ang