Philippines Election Authorities Put Biometric System to Use

“Much of the biometric data was collected during an intensive campaign last year ahead of its national election…”

Election authorities in the Philippines are taking advantage of the country’s new biometric voter registration system to ensure that upcoming polling is fair and free of fraud.

Ahead of the Philippines’ district and youth council elections, the head of its Commission on Elections (Comelec) warned that the Election Registration Board would use its biometric records to ensure that all voters who have registered are actually eligible to vote. Much of the biometric data was collected during an intensive campaign last year ahead of its national election, and while Comelec encountered some difficulties along the way, the project ultimately appears to have been success. Authorities have continued to collect voters’ biometrics during the registration period for this autumn’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

Toward the end of last month, Comelec authorites in Kalibo, the capital of the province of Aklan, reported that 742 voters there had been de-registered due to duplicate registrations elsewhere. That could be taken as a sign that Comelec’s biometric system is paying off.

Sources: The Manila Times, Manila Bulletin

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September 2, 2016 – by Alex Perala