Comelec admits voters can’t be forced to give biometric data

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday said it has been doing everything possible to make voter registration easier and more accessible but it cannot compel the voting public to submit themselves for biometric registration if they refuse to.

“It’s a shared responsibility. For the part of the voters, if they learned that they still lack biometric data, they should submit themselves for biometric registration,” said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez in an interview with reporters.

“Ultimately, they will be the one who will decide. We cannot force them to do it if they don’t want to,” he said.

Jimenez said that among the moves the poll body has initiated are the holding of mall registration, satellite registration and weekend registration. It has also sent letters to voters’ residences.

Around 4.3 million voters stand to face disenfranchisement in next year’s election owing to their failure to have their biometric data taken by the Comelec.

Republic Act No. 10367, or the Mandatory Biometrics Registration Act of 2013, provides that voters who fail to submit for validation prior to the May 2016 elections shall be deactivated from the voters’ list and shall not be allowed to vote.

Biometric data refers to the automated identification of an individual, particularly his/her photograph, fingerprint and signature.

Meanwhile, Jimenez said the Comelec en banc will have to discuss whether it will use the P1-billion savings from the scrapped Sangguniang Kabataan elections.