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The Elections Commission is now considering allowing people with passports, which were issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), to register without any “personal appearance.”
Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon revealed that they are now studying a plan to make use of DFA biometric data so that those with existing passports can register online with Comelec.
Please note that applicants must go to Comelec offices or satellite registration centers to become registered voters, as Comelec staff would have to obtain their fingerprints, signature and photograph.
If the plan is approved by DFA, it will be more convenient for both local voters and absentee voters abroad to register, especially those who are vulnerable such as people with disabilities (PWD), the elderly and pregnant women, Guanzón said. .
“This online registration method does not need a personal appearance and will encourage Filipinos around the world and within the country who have passports to register,” Guanzón said.
Yet another advantage of the scheme, the election official said, is that it no longer needs to go through Congress to be applied.
“We don’t need a law for this. The means and methods of the elections are at the sole discretion of Comelec, in accordance with the rulings of the Supreme Court ”, said Guanzón.
Guanzón described the plan as “not only timely, but also necessary,” as the government tries to minimize meetings and physical interactions due to the ongoing new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
The proposed scheme has already been unanimously approved by Comelec en banc.
