Voters line up to report various complaints in the office of the Commission on Elections Davao in Magsaysay Park. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY — Several voters who were unable to vote trooped to the Commission on Elections city here with various complaints.
Ryan Catan had been living in Manila for six years and recently came home to Davao to vote only to find out that his name was “deactivated.”
Dismayed that he spent airfare for nothing, he told Davao Today, “Naa ko biometrics, kompleto kog papeles. Sila mismo nag confirm. Naa ko updated photo. Ngano wala silay info nga active voter ko?” (I had biometrics data. My papers were complete as confirmed by Comelec officers. I have an updated photo. Why is it that they don’t have information that I am an active voter?”)
Comelec’s staff manning the information desk was not able to give Catan sufficient information.
Helen Aguillon, another voter of congressional district 2 at the Buhangin Central Elementary school, said the information desk gave “a lot of alibis.”
“They said that I cannot vote for I have failed to vote two times already. This is not true, I have voted last 2013 elections,” Aguillon said.
“They are making us dumb,” she said, adding that they were at the polling precinct as early as 6:00 am.
Meanwhile, Jaime Panaguiton from 1st district criticized the ‘no bio no boto’ policy of the Comelec as he was not allowed to vote for not having biometrics.
Before December 2015, Panaguiton said that he was told by the Comelec that biometrics was no longer needed and he just had to secure certification as a voter.
“We want to talk to the Comelec officer but the information desk already told us that we cannot vote this election,” he said.
Biometrics data refer to the automated identification of an individual such as photograph, fingerprint, and signature. The biometrics registration for voters started May 6, 2014 and the last day of filing was on October 31, last year. (davaotoday.com)
