Comelec Chair Welcomes Mandatory Biometrics Bill

Poll chief Sixto S. Brillantes Jr. said he welcomes the Senate bill making biometrics registration for the elections mandatory, according to a GMA News report.

Senate Bill 1030 requires all registered voters whose biometrics have not been captured to appear before election officers for biometric registration, the report added.

Brillantes said the bill, authored by Senator Lito Lapid and approved on third and final reading on Monday, to be implemented for the 2016 elections, would allow them to require biometrics nationwide.

Biometric registration refers to a person’s picture, fingerprints and electronic signature being recorded by a computer during the voters’ registration period. The system aims to cleanse the voter’s list of multiple registrants, where illegitimate voters usually come from.

Brillantes had earlier said around 8 million – or 15 percent of the voters’ population – have no biometrics records.

He said he was confident they could get the biometrics of 8 million Filipinos in time for the 2016 elections.