Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Wednesday reiterated that it would be unable to comply with a request from the Executive and Legislative Branches to conduct a new voters’ registration in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“We have already said that we can’t do it. There’s little time. I don’t know how they will come out with a law on it,” Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. told reporters.
Brillantes also criticized a Senate resolution that calls on Comelec to suspend the ongoing registration of voters in other parts of the country while conducting a new registration in the ARMM.
“[So] we’re going to sacrifice the entire country for ARMM?” he asked.
On Tuesday, 18 senators have signed a resolution directing the Comelec to purge the voters’ list in the ARMM in a bid to avoid any form of electoral fraud there. In 2010, there were about 1.8 million registered voters in the ARMM, of which 1.2 were able to cast their ballots.
Brillantes said conducting a new registration of voters in the region involved various procedures such as the bidding or purchase of new registration machines, reconfiguration of computer databases, and new hearings before the electoral registration boards which are also in charge of petitions for disqualification, reactivation and transfer of registration.
“We will have a problem without our timetable. We can’t finish it. But we will see if they have a solution to it,” Brillantes said.
The Comelec en banc, citing lack of time, earlier refused President Aquino’s call to conduct a new registration for ARMM, although the poll body said it would be possible to conduct the registration in Maguindanao.
Brillantes said Congress should just pass soon a bill requiring all voters to have biometrics in their registration to make sure there would be no more flying or ghost voters.
“That’s the bill that they should pass., so that those registered without biometrics cannot vote.