Poll watchdog pushes for poll modernization

A comprehensive modernization of the country’s electoral system was proposed during a recent forum of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsive Voting (PPCRV).

Presenting the proposal at the Pope Pius XII Center in Manila were Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioners Luzviminda Tancangco and Resurreccion Borra, and Telibert Laoc, executive director of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel).

Meanwhile, Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. said the poll body will not hold a general registration of voters as planned because of lack of funds.

"There will not be any registration, but instead, we will require the voters to submit themselves for validation of their registration," he said.

Abalos said validation of registration will enable the Comelec to cleanse the list of voters and eliminate double registrants through their fingerprints and photographs which would be stored in a database.

"Under the validation of registration, voters will be subjected to fingerprinting, data capturing and photographs," he said.

Voters must take part in the scheduled validation of registration so they can cast their ballots in the next election, Abalos added.

After assessing the lectures of Tancangco, Borra and Laoc, the PPCRV said the country’s electoral system must be modernized, from the registration of voters to the proclamation of the winning candidates.

It was also concluded that the cleansing of the list of voters must be the "bedrock of automation" because "quick-counting, quick-canvassing and quick-proclamation" would not take form if the "rotten system" remains unchanged.

"The PPCRV as part of the Body of Christ must serve as an instrument in making the kingdom of men, like politics, a kingdom of God," the PPCRV said.

The PPCRV said "fingerprint identification" is the best solution to safeguard the registration of voters, provided the Comelec will consider the financial constraints, geographical location and literacy of the voters.

"Furthermore, the issuance of tamper-proof voter’s identification card upon registration, based on biometrics system is deemed necessary," the PPCRV said.

The PPCRV also subscribes to the guiding principles that civil literacy through the education of voters must be viewed from a holistic perspective.

"An integrated approach which seeks a comprehensive education program geared to educate the electorate on the technicalities of the electoral process must take center-stage amidst traditional programs centered solely in giving the voters a set of guidelines in their responsible choice of candidates," the PPCRV said.

The PPCRV said each voter must be a subject of the electoral process and not just an object so they could be given real empowerment.

"Reasons are the coins we pay for beliefs we hold, and in the end there will only be social paralysis without its due and proper analysis," the PPCRV said.

"If we want to make democracy truly work in the Philippines, all sectors of society must work hand-in-hand to make this possible. And in this regard, the role of the Church must never be discounted."

Government agencies, non-government organizations, and people involved in information technology must take part in designing the modernization process, the PPCRV added.

Abalos said the Comelec will submit to Congress a bill seeking the holding of a validation of registration in lieu of a general registration of voters.

"This bill seeks to provide an alternative option that will cost less but insure the integrity of the voters’ list without the annulment by authorizing the Commission on Elections to conduct the validation of registration of voters by requiring them to appear before the Election Registration Board," read an excerpt from the bill.

Abalos said an estimated P1 billion will be spent in the validation of registration instead of the P6.5 billion slated for the Voters’ Registration and Identification System (VRIS).

"This is much cheaper including the purchase of the equipment for data and photograph capturing because we will be spending about P1 billion only," he said.

Earlier, the Comelec announced a general registration of voters following the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections last July 15.