Comelec chief signs up in mall

Comelec Chair Andres Bautista AP FILE PHOTO

Unlike some public officials, he wanted to pass himself off as an ordinary citizen lining up with others to have his biometrics taken in a Quezon City mall on Saturday.

“I hope I didn’t get any special treatment because I didn’t want any. I really wanted to know how it feels to be a voter,” Commission on Election Chair Andres Bautista said as he queued up for almost an hour with his validation slip.

Like the others having their biometrics data validated, Bautista had his picture, fingerprint and signature captured by the Comelec’s Voter Registration Machine.

After seeing for himself what the process was like at the Comelec satellite registration booth at the Trinoma mall, he said that voters no longer had an excuse not to vote in the May 2016 national elections.

The validation process was rather fast, he said. “For me, it was OK. The aircon just needed to be improved,” he said, noting the stream of people to the mall’s fourth floor registration area.

Bautista said biometrics registration booths in the malls will be open every Saturday and Sunday. Niña P. Calleja