The Philippine government is planning to use facial recognition-equipped drones in its fight against terrorism, suggest recent comments from the country’s Defense Secretary, Delfin Lorenzana. Details about the plans are hazy, but in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel last week, Lorenzana discussed the military’s recent acquisition of unmanned aerial vehicles from the US, and…
With the nationwide launch of a new biometric driver’s license program complete, the Philippines’ Land Transport Office is now issuing half a million such ID documents per month. The project was first unveiled three months ago, when Germany-based Dermalog announced that it had been selected to provide the technology for the program. Each document features…
A national ID program similar to India’s biometric Aadhaar program may be starting to take shape in the Philippines. The idea behind such a program first emerged in the country this past summer, when the Department of Finance set aside 2 billion PHP for a national ID program incorporating biometric data, a program that was…
Government authorities in the Philippines are now issuing biometric driver licenses, thanks in part to technology provided by Dermalog. The German firm has announced that its technology enables the documents to feature fingerprint biometrics data. In a statement, Dermalog asserted that the technology makes the Philippines’ driver license “one of the most secure in the…
“…the ID program could have additional applications in areas like driver licenses, passports, health insurance, and criminal investigation.” The President of the Philippines has given the go-ahead to a planned biometric ID program for the country, reports Manila Bulletin. President Duterte has approved the allocation of 2 billion PHP for the Philippine Statistics Authority to…
The Philippines’ Department of Finance is preparing the way for the implementation of a national biometric ID program. As The Philippine Star reports, the DOF has allocated 2 billion PHP for the program’s rollout next year. The new national ID program will incorporate biometric data, which will be used to determine individual citizens’ entitlements to…
“The system will take photos of all passengers, whether arriving or departing, and will be checked against Interpol’s criminal databases to flag any fugitives.” The Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration is planning to install a biometric identification system at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport that will be linked to Interpol databases, reports The Daily Tribune. The…
“The Philippines debut of the system follows soon after its launch this August in Malaysia, with Citi having previously indicated its aim is to become the first bank to roll out voice authentication across the entire APAC region.” Citibank has brought voice-based authentication to the Philippines, reports BusinessMirror. The bank has launched such a system 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.…
Although electronic voting is still seen by some as a thing of the future, there are experts in the field with decade’s worth of experience under their belt. This is the case of Robert Cook, Global Administration Sales Operations VP for Smartmatic. For the last 38 years, Mr. Cook has been involved in the adoption…
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…
The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) is insisting that voters’ biometric data was not breached in recent hack attacks against its website. The attacks occurred toward the end of last month, with Comelec’s website first being defaced by Anonymous Philippines, followed by the posting of voter data by a group called Lulzsec Pilipinas. That data…
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…