CEBU CITY, June 21 (PNA) — The Cebu City Council has passed a resolution asking the city’s business establishments to grant one day off to their employees to allow them to update their records before the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Councilor Alvin Dizon, author of the resolution, said he wants business owners to grant their employees a biometrics day when employees can visit Comelec offices to update their voters’ records.
Dizon said based on Comelec’s latest records, about 4.7 million voters in the country have yet to have their biometrics taken.
“This is the biggest problem the commission is facing,” said Dizon.
“The Comelec noted that the usual excuse that voters cannot go to their office to register is work,” Dizon’s resolution also read.
Dizon’s resolution is in answer to Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez’s earlier appeal to business owners for a biometrics day, for employees to update their Comelec records during a work day when the election offices are open.
Dizon cited Republic Act No. 10367 or An Act Providing for the Mandatory Biometrics Voter’s Registration, which requires the establishment of a clean, complete, permanent and updated list of voters through a biometrics technology.
The law states that voters who fail to have their records validated before the May 2016 elections will be deactivated from the voters’ list and will not be allowed to vote.
The deadline for the registration for the 2016 polls is on Oct. 31, 2015. (PNA)