Of all Philippines provinces Negros Occidental tops biometrics registration

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  — Negros Occidental tops the biometrics data registration among the provinces in the country, according to provincial election supervisor Jessie Suarez.

Out of the 1,595,317 registered voters in Negros Occidental, only 57,653 or 3.61 percent who have no biometrics yet.

“The remaining 3.61 percent are most likely people who already died or those who have transferred residences but have not given their notices in local offices,” Suarez said, as he reiterated his call to the voters to update their records otherwise they will be removed from the list for the next elections.

Voters with incomplete biometrics could not vote in the 2016 elections, and those who fail to update their biometrics may only reactivate their registration after the polls, he said.

Suarez also urged candidates to file their certificates of candidacy early, within the scheduled dates from October 12 to 16.

“Those who plan to run for mayor, vice mayor and councilors should file their COCs together with their respective certificate of nomination and acceptance in the municipality or city they intend to run. Those who will run for governor, vice governor and members of the legislatures should submit their requirements to the Comelec  Provincial Office,” he said.

Suarez further announced that the Comelec will form a technical working group to study the possibility of holding the voting inside the shopping malls for some identified precincts.

There are pros and cons on the proposal, he said. “It would be more comfortable for persons with disability (PWDs) to vote in the malls because the place is air-conditioned. But it would be hard to distinguish shoppers from voters and vote buying would be hard to control,” he added. — (FREEMAN)