Government authorities in the Philippines are proceeding in their effort to establish a national biometric ID program, with plans to begin issuance in Metro Manila and the Calabarzon region by the year’s end. Announcing the developments in a CNN Philippines interview, Davao City Representative Karlo Nograles referred to these municipal zones as “pilot areas” for…
Smartmatic has announced the winners of its Transparency 2016 Election Photo Contest. Organized in partnership with the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation, the contest highlighted the civil spirit animating the Philippines’ recent general elections, with Jijo de Guzman’s grand prize-winning photo depicting a Catholic nun voting alongside a woman in traditional Muslim garb. De Guzman won…
“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…
The head of the Philippines’ Commission on Elections says there will be no extension of the voter registration period ahead of the October 31st district and youth council elections, reports GMA News Online. Comelec chairman Andres Bautista explained that an extension of the registration period would interfere with the organization’s election preparations, adding, “We still…
The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) is forging ahead with its biometric polling efforts with a new round of elections underway. These are the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections—referring essentially to small districts and youth councils, respectively. As Sun.Star Baguio reports, the elections are scheduled for October 31st with voter registration having opened last week.…
Last week at FindBiometrics Physical Access & Enterprise Month culminated in an exclusive webinar event, Biometrics, Access Control and the Enterprise of Tomorrow. Meanwhile, the industry news featured stories on brainwave biometrics, the Comelec hacks in the Philippines, fingerprint recognition solutions, and more. Here’s a look back on the tops stories in identity management from…
In the wake of a major hacking scandal, The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) is working hard to assuage public alarm over fears related to biometric data having been compromised. The hack attacks occurred toward the end of March, with Anonymous Philippines defacing Comelec’s website and a group called Lulzsec Pilipinas posting putative voter data…
Last week at FindBiometrics physical access control and FinTech were the biggest topics, as we brought you live reporting from Money20/20 Europe in Copenhagen and ISC West in Las Vegas. Physical Access & Enterprise month kicked off in the featured articles section with a primer on April’s featured topic too, while FIDO, national ID, and…
Hack attacks against the Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) website are stoking fears about user data breaches. The attacks happened toward the end of last month. On March 27th, Anonymous Philippines’ defaced the website, reportedly to raise the alarm over user data security; only hours after that incident, a group called Lulzsec Pilipinas posted what…
The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) has announced a new partnership with Facebook that could help generate excitement about the country’s May 9th election. Speaking about the new partnership to the media, Comelec chairman Andres Bautista and Facebook Public Policy for Asia Pacific head Elizabeth Hernandez framed it as a means to facilitate dialogue among citizens,…
With its newly-won Supreme Court backing, the Philippines’ Commission on Elections is proceeding with its deregistration of voters who failed to submit their biometric data in anticipation of this year’s national elections. Comelec has now deregistered 300,000 voters in the Eastern Visayas region, an area that had appeared to be problematic in terms of biometric…
The Philippines’ Supreme Court has sided with the country’s Commission on Elections (“Comelec”) in the tense court battle over biometric voter authentication. The court has dismissed the protestations of the Kabataan-Party list and its allies and revoked its temporary restraining order against Comelec’s efforts to de-register the eligible voters who did not submit their biometric…
The battle over biometric polling continues to play out in the Philippines’ Supreme Court as civil organizations led by the Kabataan Party-list argue vehemently against the Commission on Elections’s (Comelec) “no bio, no boto” policy. The complainants have filed a new petition urging the Supreme Court to uphold its temporary restraining order (TRO) on Comelec’s move…
The Philippines Supreme Court has denied a petition to extend the biometric registration deadline for eligible voters. The case came about in the last days of the registration period, which ended October 31st, as Commission on Elections (Comelec) registration sites were overwhelmed with voters seeking last-minute registrations. While registration had been open for 17 months,…
The Philippines Supreme Court has ordered a temporary halt to the country’s Commission on Elections’ efforts to deactivate the voting eligibility of citizens who failed to register their biometric data on time. It’s the latest cliffhanger development in Comelec’s long saga of biometric voter registration. Next year’s national election is to be the first requiring…
The Philippines Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) implementation of mandatory biometric voter identification ahead of next year’s national election. Brought forward by a coalition of student and youth organizations under the wing of the Kabataan Party-list, the petition argues against the legitimacy of the biometric requirement itself. In that…
The Philippines’ Commission on Elections, or Comelec, will allow citizens to vote even if their biometric data is corrupted. The announcement comes from Comelec even as the commission forges ahead with its disenfranchisement of voters who failed to register their biometric data ahead of an October 31st deadline. While a major surge in registrant traffic…
The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (“Comelec”) has officially moved to disqualify otherwise eligible voters who failed to register their biometric data by its October 31st deadline. In a new resolution, the agency asked the Election Registration Board (ERB) to deactivate those voters’ eligibility for the 2016 election. Next year’s national election will rely on biometric…
The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) says that it has registered about 54.6 million voters’ biometrics, ensuring their eligibility to vote in next year’s national election. The registration period closed on October 31st. Numbers from Comelec’s regional offices are still coming in, but at this point the organization says any further adjustments to its tally…