Voters with incomplete biometrics can still vote

CEBU, Philippines - Registered voters with incomplete and corrupted biometrics data will still be allowed to vote in the May 2016 national and local polls, however, they need to complete biometrics data right after elections, according to the Commission on Elections.

The Comelec also assured to address backlog of incomplete data after elections. Of the 4,348,056 registered voters in Central Visayas, 152,637 still have no biometrics while 8,644 voters have incomplete data. Majority of them are from the province of Cebu.

Based on the recent data of Comelec, Cebu has 2,607,668 registered voters with complete biometrics while 74,110 without biometrics and 7,939 incomplete biometrics.

Bohol has 760,757 voters with biometrics, 384 incomplete and 25,092 without biometrics; Siquijor has 66,180 voters with complete biometrics, 4 incomplete and 1,152 without; and Negros Oriental currently has 752,170 voters with biometrics, 317 incomplete and 52,283 without biometrics.

Lawyer Veronico G. Petalcorin, Comelec assistant regional director for Central Visayas, said 8,644 registered voters have incomplete data which means they either have incomplete fingerprint data or photo taken during their registration.

“Aron walay problema ila gyod i-complete ang biometrics after elections,” he said.

 Petalcorin is calling on voters to update their records or else they will be removed from the list for the next elections after 2016. He said notice would be sent to them after elections, directing those with incomplete information to complete their data. He added that Comelec may prioritize them next year.

He also advised voters to check the Comelec website at http://www.comelec.gov.ph/ for the complete list and to find out if they need to undergo validation procedures.

“Ato sila’ng i-urge aron makompleto. Basi magsalig lang sila na okay na kay nakabotar sila,” he said.

He, however, said 152, 637 voters who have not had their biometrics information taken or without biometrics are now being purged from the voters list.

“Basta ma-biometrics na sila tanan including old voters next year then ma-achieve nato ang zero-no bio. Kun di sila ma-biometrics dili na problema kay matanggal sila sa lista,” he said. — (FREEMAN)