Voters’ biometric registration starts May 6 -- Comelec

By Hirohito D. Cadion

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, May 1 (PNA) – A top official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the nearby Zamboanga del Norte province is calling on new and qualified voters to register in their respective localities in preparation for the 2016 synchronized national and local elections.

Atty. Ephraim Bag-id, Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Election Officer, said the registration for new and qualified voters will start on Tuesday, May 6, until October 31, 2015.

Bag-id said Section 9 of Comelec Resolution No. 9853, provides that any Filipino citizen who is not yet a registered voter may apply for registration provided he or she is at least 18 years old on or before May 9, 2016 synchronized national, local and autonomous regional elections.

Bag-id added that he or she must also be a resident of the Philippines for at least one year and in the place wherein he or she proposes to vote, for at least six months immediately preceding the said election.

He said an applicant shall personally appear before the election officer and shall present identification documents bearing his photograph and signature such as identification cards from the employer and school, postal ID, Person with Disabilities (PWD) Discount ID, senior citizen’s ID, driver’s license, NBI clearance, passport, SSS/GSIS ID, Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) ID, Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) license, Certificate of Confirmation issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in case of members of ICCs or IPs, and any other valid ID.

Bag-id reminded that the Community Tax Certificate or known as “cedula” and Police clearance will not be honored as valid identification documents for purposes of registration.

Meanwhile, Bag-id said they will also accommodate the correction of entries and reactivation of voters’ accounts as well as transfer of voters to another polling places.

He urged those who have not yet undergone the mandatory biometric registration to visit the election office in their locality to be biometrically listed.

He said those who will fail to undergo the validation process on or before the last day of filing of application for registration for purposes of the May 2016 elections will be deactivated in line with Republic Act 10367, An Act Providing for Mandatory Biometrics Voter Registration. (PNA)
CTB/TPGJR/HDC/JSD