DICT pressed to finish e-signatures of teachers to serve as workers in 2022 polls

FILE PHOTO: Teachers prepare the election paraphernalia they received from the Cebu City treasurer’s office and the classroom to be used as a voting precinct for the 2019 midterm elections. INQUIRER file photo / JUNJIE MENDOZA

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos has called out the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) for the delay of the digitalized signatures of teachers who will serve as poll workers in the coming 2022 elections.

“Talaga ba mangyayari o mapapahiya tayo?”Marcos asked DICT in a Senate briefing last June 3.

Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation, also argued that the DICT’s hard-copy requirements on teachers were delaying the registration for personal digital signatures even when the Department of Education (DepEd) already proposed an online submission of personal data of teachers.

According to DICT Undersecretary Manny Caintic, they are now in talks with the Commission on Election (Comelec) with regards to the enrollment of 300,000 teachers.

“We are in talks now with Comelec, may plano po kami ngayon with DepEd for the enrollment of the 300,000 teachers to be able to use the digital signatures,” Caintic said.

(We are now in talks with Comelec and we also have plans with DepEd regarding the enrollment of 300,000 teachers to be able to use the digital signatures)

Caintic also mentioned that the issuance of the digital signatures also posed a challenge for DICT, but they are now cooperating with the DepEd to handle the issue.

Comelec Executive Director Teopisto Elnas Jr., meanwhile, said they are now finished conducting instruction seminars for the election officers and plans to start the “actual enrollment” by June.

“As of now, tapos na ‘yung pakikipag-usap namin with DICT, and in fact, tapos na ‘yung seminar and lecture natin, pagbigay ng instructions sa lahat ng election officers natin,” he said.

(As of now, our discussions with DICT have been concluded, and in fact, our seminar and lectures, the giving of instructions to all elections officers are already finished.)

“We will be starting the actual enrollment, i-jumpstart namin ‘yan by June para in time makuha na namin ‘yan lahat and magamit natin sa elections,” he added.

(We will be starting the actual enrollment, we’ll jumpstart it by June so that in time we’ll be able to get all of it and use it in the elections.)

The 2022 polls will be the first time electoral boards will be signing election returns digitally, compared to the last three automated elections where digital signatures were only from vote-counting machines. Sofia Vertucio