Just when one thought that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be derailed by the temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court on its “no bio, no boto” policy, the High Tribunal had a change of heart and lifted the order before the year ends.
While it could have come earlier, maybe the Supreme Court wanted to take a long review of the petition filed by the militant Kabataan partylist group which questioned the policy by claiming that it would disenfranchise those who were unable to have their complete biometrics taken by the Comelec.
That it was a full year and several months since the Comelec called on the public to have their complete biometrics data taken didn’t seem to matter to those who failed to do so, since they were fully confident that they will be able to vote after having voted in several elections already, including in the 2010 and perhaps in the 2013 elections when biometrics was already instituted as a requirement.
Those who voted in the 2013 elections underwent biometric data-gathering procedure so their names can be seen in the master list of voters in every precinct. It was highly likely, therefore, that they no longer had to do so this year.
Among those likely affected are first-time voters or those who reach 18 years old this year or will do so next year.
They form the core constituency of the Kabataan partylist, and it may have given the partylist a reason to question the Comelec rule.
Critics of the “no bio, no boto” Comelec policy may build a case against Comelec chairman Andres Bautista’s warning that revoking the policy may result in a suspension of next year’s elections. But there is little doubt that suspending the policy will result in additional work for the Comelec which has to revisit its list of voters per precinct which number in the thousands throughout the country.
True, the number of voters who failed to undergo the biometrics registration may reach millions, which may be crucial to swinging the votes for any candidate in the national elections.
It is truly a wasted opportunity on their part, and one that may haunt them if they are truly invested in trying to make a difference in government through the elections.
But such is the risk that should be taken if only to ensure that there won’t be any flying voters who will also wreak havoc on the results of the elections. For once, it’s time for the country to de-fang and end the manipulation of the election process by election operators who rely on manual voting, vote-buying and bringing in flying voters to secure the victory of their moneyed clients.
The sooner Filipinos accept this, the better it is for them and the Comelec, so they can move forward and make sure that everything is in place for next year’s elections.