Soldiers told: Register, vote where you’re posted

LUCENA CITY—The head of the military’s Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) has ordered all soldiers and members of the paramilitary group Citizens Armed Force Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in Southern Tagalog and Bicol to register and vote in their places of assignment.

“As much as possible, I discourage our soldiers from absentee voting because it allows soldiers to vote only for national posts,” said Lt. General Ricardo R. Visaya, Solcom chief, in a statement.

Visaya directed all soldiers and Cafgu members to participate in the coming national and local elections by voting in areas where they are assigned.

“Soldiers are members of society and casting their votes is one way of exercising their political rights,” he said.

The Solcom headquarters based here in Camp Nakar has 10,000 soldiers and 10,000 Cafgu members under its command.

In August, the Commission on Elections conducted a satellite registration of voters at Camp Nakar upon the request of Visaya.

The deadline for the voter registration for the 2016 election is on Oct. 31.

According to Republic Act No. 10367, or the Mandatory Biometrics Registration Act of 2013, voters who fail to have their biometrics taken prior to the May 2016 elections, would be unable to vote.

Biometrics refers to the automated identification of an individual based on pictures, fingerprints or signatures.