MANILA: Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes believes at least eight million voters will be disenfranchised if the mandatory biometrics registration is implemented in next year’s polls.
“If it becomes a law and it will have to be implemented next year, those who are not yet registered under the biometrics system may not be able to vote in 2013 because biometrics will then be mandatory,” he said yesterday.
It would be better if mandatory biometrics registration would be implemented in the 2016 polls, Brillantes said.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano criticised Brillantes during plenary session for his statement.
“How will you have an election for senators (with) 40m voters, and then you will disenfranchise eight million voters?” he said.
“There are a lot of congressional districts, mayors, governors, councillors who usually win with a slight lead. Can you imagine if voters are disenfranchised because they do not have biometrics (required) by a law (that was) passed after the (registration) deadline.”
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, Senate committee on electoral reforms chairman, said the bill was intended for the 2016 elections.
“I believe that it is a baseless, alarmist statement, the attitude of the committee on electoral reforms led by this representation is that we will not introduce drastic changes on election laws and rules because of the upcoming May 2013 elections,” he said.
“The correct interpretation is, we passed this law at the soonest possible time, not for the purposes of May 2013 elections, but for the 2016 elections.
“We pass it early so that we can encourage, disseminate the requirement as early as possible to our voters, when the period of registration is open again after the 2013 elections.”
Last Monday, the Senate approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to require all voters to be registered through the biometrics system.
Under the bill authored by Sen Lito Lapid, registered voters whose biometrics have not been captured would have to appear before the election officer in their places of registration for their photographs, fingerprints, signatures and other identifiable features taken.
Section 8 on Deactivation of SB 1030 reads: “Voters who failed to submit for validation on or before the last day of filing of application for registration for purposes of the 2013 national and local elections, despite due notice, shall be deactivated from the registration record of the voters by the Election Registration Board.”
The bill proposes: “Those deactivated under the preceding section may apply before the Election Registration Board for reactivation with simultaneous validation and the applicant shall, if eligible, be included as a matter of right in the Registration Record of Voters.”
On the use of biometrics in the voting process, the Commission shall establish a system where the electronic data generated by biometric registration shall be available to election officers at the precinct level for them to verify the identity of a voter.
The congressional bicameral conference committee has yet to meet to thresh out the biometrics issue.
Under the biometrics system, voters would have their digital signatures, fingerprints and photographs taken by data capturing machines.
These data will then be cross-matched by Automated Fingerprint Identification System to eliminate those with double or multiple registrations.
Voter’s registration was closed last October 31 after one and a half years. The poll body is expecting some 50m registrants.
Brillantes said voter’s registration may be reopened if the Comelec receives an order from the Supreme Court. However, doing so would affect preparations for the 2013 elections, he added.
The Philippine Star
