SC orders Comelec to answer petition for extended voters’ registration

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to answer a petition seeking to extend the deadline for the registration of voters.

In a press conference, SC spokesman Theodore Te said the poll body should comment on the petition filed by the Kabataan party-list last month seeking to extend the registration to Jan. 8.

Te said the Comelec was given 10 days from receipt of notice to comply with the order.

The group cited the admission made by poll officials that some three million voters face disenfranchisement for failing to have their biometrics taken. 

“With the very high volume of first-time registrants and voters in the May 9, 2016 elections, the Oct. 31, 2015 deadline… is utterly insufficient to accommodate first-time youth registrants, voters without biometrics and voters highly eager to participate in the May 9, 2016 elections,” the group said.

The petitioners also cited the suspension of the registration on Oct. 12 to 16 to give way to the filing of certificates of candidacy.

They added the Comelec admitted that some registration centers processed around only 250 applications due to insufficient registration documents and malfunctioning or inadequate data capturing machines.

The petitioners said the Oct. 31 deadline violated Section 8 of the Voter’s Registration Act, which provides for the continuing registration of voters until 120 days before a regular election and 90 days before a special election.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said an SC ruling declared illegal the Oct. 31, 2009 deadline for registration of voters for the May 10, 2010 elections, and directed the Comelec to extend the registration period.

Corrupted biometrics

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said voters with incomplete and corrupted biometrics data could still vote in the May 2016 polls.

“We were looking at some 2.5 million voters without biometrics but this figure will go down. We will have a separate list of those with incomplete biometrics and those with corrupted biometrics in our database. The end-result would be less people who will not be able to vote in 2016,” Jimenez said.

He said Comelec Resolution 10013 provides that voters with incomplete biometrics and those with corrupted biometrics would be allowed to vote in the May 2016 elections.

“Let’s not punish those with incomplete biometrics, especially the voters whose records were corrupted because that is not their fault,” he said.

He said the Comelec is looking at around 54 million voters next year. – With Perseus Echeminada