Comelec intensifies drive to encourage voters submit for biometrics

DAVAO City– The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Region 11 has intensified its campaign to get the biometrics of over 260,000 active voters in Davao region but do not have their signatures, photo and thumbprints in the system after the 2004 elections.
Of the number, 179,000 voters are from Davao City which represents 10 percent of the city’s 800,000 total number of voters.

Comelec-11 assistant regional director Marlon Casquejo said the Comelec offices are trying their best to cover every barangay to get the biometrics of the registered voters mostly 35 years old and above.

Comelec is already working for the second round of satellite biometrics registration. Yesterday, election officers started to cover each barangay. Today, biometrics registration will be conducted in Balioc.

In Davao City alone, Casquejo said only a few responded to their call, saying, “people still have the deadline mentality.” For the first district since April 20 to the present, only 2,000 went to Comelec for biometrics, Casquejo said.

“We could not get a big number of voters,” Casquejo said, admitting that it is now the immediate concern of the Comelec to encourage voters to submit for biometrics especially in Davao City.

During the Kapehan sa SM Monday, Casquejo reminded that failure to submit to the biometrics system would disallow voters from voting in the 2016 elections or voters’ records will be deactivated.

It is in accordance with Republic Act No. 10367 that the absence of biometrics in a voter’s registration record has become an additional ground for deactivation.
Voters who would fail to submit themselves for validation until October 31, 2015 would prompt Comelec to deactivate their registration record. This would mean that these deactivated voters will not be allowed to vote for the May 2016 elections.
The biometrics system is the process of digitally capturing a voter’s photograph, fingerprints and signature to complete his registration record pursuant to RA 10367.
Casquejo said Talomo and Bucana are the barangays with the most number of voters without biometrics.

While Comelec started the biometrics system in 2003, Casquejo said people who registered that year still need to check their records because of inconsistencies following the transfer from Voters’ Registration System (VRS) to the computerized voters system.
Casquejo said they have been sending notices to voters without biometrics after only few have responded to their call.

The biometrics system is aimed at cleansing the voters’ list to avoid flying voters. Casquejo said voters can now also check their registration with their respective barangays which were already provided with the soft copies of the voters’ list. pna