Voters with no biometric data not allowed to vote in 2016

DESPITE the long lines in the first two days of the voters’ registration, the provincial office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said there are still 200,000 Cebuanos who have yet to undergo biometrics data registration.

In yesterday’s 888 News Forum, Provincial Elections Supervisor Marco Castillano said voters with inadequate biometric data after the Oct. 31, 2015 deadline will not be allowed to vote in the 2016 elections.

As of May 11, there were 13,382 who have registered with the Comelec in Cebu.
Cebu City’s south district has the most number with 2,225 followed by Cebu City’s north district with 2.079.

Castillano said the Comelec is open to process registration applications from Sundays to Fridays. Staffers are taking their days-off on Saturdays. They will also hold satellite registrations in different barangays in the province, Castillano said.
Digital records

“I asked the Comelec officers to coordinate with local officials and with the local church leaders,” the Comelec provincial officer said. The satellite registration is usually done in the barangay halls and sports centers, he said.

Castillano said the biometrics data registration is needed to clean up the voters list for the 2016 elections.

The biometrics data registration consists of the voter’s photo, digital signature and digital fingerprint.

“Those who have not yet registered… those who have transferred their registration from one place to another, those who would like to correct their entries….and katong mga na-rehistro na pero wala pa na kuhaan ug biometrics, kana lang sila ang mu adto sa Comelec.” (those who have already registered but who have no recorded biometrics are the ones who should go to Comelec),” Castillano said.

For voters who have not voted in the past two consecutive elections, Castillano said they should reactivate their records by going to the Comelec and state their reasons for failing to vote.
A general registration means wiping the list of voters clean and starting over again.

Castillano said the local civil registrar, under the law, should also give a list of deceased residents to the local election officer every quarter. However, he said the list is not updated in most areas.

He said one solution is for the relatives of the deceased to submit a copy of the death certificate to the local Comelec officer. /UP Cebu Intern Gerriane Rizon with Silliman University intern DM Lorena Narciso