ALANGALANG, Leyte, July 25 (PNA) – This town has already achieved 98 percent biometric validation among its 30,448 registered voters, the local Commission on Elections (Comelec) office reported.
In line with the Comelec Resolution No. 9189, dubbed as “Resumption of Continuing Registration,” the local Comelec office conducted satellite registration all throughout its 54 villages, making it more easy and quick for the citizens to register.
However, according to Edna Cerro, chairperson of the election registration board of the local Comelec office, they had a hard time making the town people understand what biometric is and its importance.
As aid to this difficulty, they have piloted the nationwide information campaign and sent notices to all the villages to make them aware of the value of biometric validation.
Cerro said, the remaining two percent registered voters without biometric validation were voters who were still on the list since the local civil register had not yet issued the death certificates.
“Also, the other registered voters without biometric validation are those who do not reside in the town of Alangalang anymore,” Cerro added.
Marissa Gonzales, 40, a registered voter from the San Pedro village said biometric validation was important and a great help because it assured them that their registration was valid and ensuring that all the information filled out there were theirs and correct.
“It validates my registration, making me a registered voter giving me my right to vote and choose future leaders,” she added.
Those who fail to do the biometric validation will be deleted from the list and be denied to exercise their right to vote, according to Comelec
Biometric voter registration allows every eligible voter to register with a biometric feature like fingerprints, iris and/or face. During registration the voter receives a unique ID (identification) card. To ensure that every voter is only registered once on the voter list a de-duplication process is executed with a central biometric matching engine.
The adjudication system will review every ID with multiple registrations to guarantee the “one person, one vote” principle. (PNA)