Comelec stops voter's ID printing

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has suspended the printing of voters’ identification cards upon the advice of acting director Jeannie Flororita to give way to the computerized system of registration.

In a resolution, the poll body said the printing would resume after the records of 50 million registered voters have

gone through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

“In effect, only credible voters can enjoy hassle-free identification to vote,” read the resolution.

In recommending the stoppage of printing, Flororita said there has been no supply of paper for printing since October 2008.

Under the AFIS project, the Comelec uses data capturing machines (DCMs) to get the photographs, fingerprints and signatures of voters.

The biometrics will then be cross-matched to eliminate double and multiple registrants.

In an earlier interview, lawyer Teopisto Elnas, Comelec elections and barangay affairs director, sad it was not practical to issue voter’s ID since double and multiple registrants have not yet been eliminated from the list.

It would be better to wait for the cleared list of voters before resuming the printing of IDs, he added.

The Comelec had begun using DCMs to get the biometrics of registrants in 2004 but it had no machines to cross match them.

In the 2007 elections, only around half of the 45 million voters had their biometrics taken.

Last month, the Comelec had awarded the P1.5-billion contract to supply the AFIS machines to the joint venture of Unison Computer System Inc., Lamco Paper Products Co. Inc. and NEC Philippines Inc.

The benefits of AFIS will be reaped in the midterm polls in 2013. —Sheila Crisostomo