SC ibinasura ang petisyon kontra ‘No Bio, No Boto’ ng Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — Hindi maaaring makaboto sa darating na eleksyon 2016 ang mga rehistradong botante ngunit walang record ng kanilang biometrics sa Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Unanimous ang naging botohan ng 15 mahistrado ng mataas na hukuman upang ibasura ang petisyon ng kabataang grupo sa pangunguna ni Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon.

"The SC dismissed the petition for lack of merit and dissolved the December 1 TRO," Supreme Court Spokesperson Theodore Te.

Nakasaad sa 32-pahinang petition for certiorari and prohibition na labag sa Saligang Batas ang No Bio, No Boto ng Comelec, kung saan hindi bababa sa tatlong milyong botante ang hindi makaboboto.

"Biometrics validation gravely violates constitutional due process, applying the strict scrutiny test, as it is not poised as a compelling reason for state regulation and is an unreasonable deprivation of the right to suffrage," nakasaad sa reklamo.

Nauna nang sinabi ng Comelec na hindi sila nagkulang sa paalala sa publiko na magrehistro sa kanilang biometrics upang hindi maiwasan ang aberya.

"I hope they (the Supreme Court magistrates) realize that the Comelec is doing all it can to meet the deadline but if we could not make it happen like in this case what could we do? Probably we might have to postpone the elections and that could be a disaster," wika noon ni Bautista.