2016 elections: What's new?

COMPARED to the last national elections in 2010 when President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III was catapulted to presidency, a lot of new features, additions and changes were included for next year's elections, all in the effort of the Philippines' Commission on Elections (Comelec) to come up better and more transparent and systematic electoral process.

No Bio, No Boto

In February 15, 2013, President Aquino had signed into law the Republic Act 10367 which mandates that "all voter registration records must have biometrics information," and those records of voters who have not updated or validated their biometrics information will be deactivated, thus will no longer eligible to vote in May 2016.

Biometrics data will be registered via biometric voter verification system (VVS) by using digital camera, a fingerprint scanner and a signature pad to capture the voters' biometrics data.

"Due to this new law, all previously registered voters without biometrics are required to subject themselves to biometrics capture through the validation procedure. All concerned is given until 31 October 2015 to comply with this requirement," the Comelec website said.

This new biometrics requirement has led to the #NoBioNoBoto nationwide campaign, aimed to entice everyone to have their biometrics validated whether as old voters or new registrants.

The Comelec's Bid and Award Committee (BAC) said that the commission leased a total of 23,000 VVS units. A VVS unit leasing fee costs P90,000. With the new biometrics requirements, Comelec hired a total of 4,135 technical support workers to facilitate the technology.

Comelec had poured a total of P727.215 million for the new biometrics requirement, which as they described as their added transparency measure.

With the implementation of this new requirement, the commission was confronted with challenges such as accepting a huge and significant figure of Filipino voters who have not validated its biometrics data.

As of October 24, Comelec-Davao Region data bared that a total of 195,826 voters in the region still have no biometric validation, biggest bulk of it is coming from Davao City at 120,000 out of the city's 912,959 registered voters.

Comelec Davao deputy director lawyer Marlon Casquejo said in an interview with Sun.Star Davao that there are 2,211,275 registered voters in Davao Region, and some nine percent or 195,826 of that have no biometric validation.

"These nine percent of the total voters in Davao Region who are still non-validated with biometrics information is still significant," he said

He was quick to add that with the time constraints it is impossible to accommodate the remaining numbers.

"To be realistic, we cannot cope up with these numbers with the remaining days. For every district, we can only accommodate an average of about 300 per day," Casquejo said. Davao City is composed of three districts.

In a recent report, Casquejo added that there are 64,684 still have no biometric validation in the first district, 36,445 for second, and 26,244 for the third district.

Biometrics systems are significantly being introduced and deployed globally as part of the new system in a bid to ensure fair and efficient electoral process.

Malls partnership

For this upcoming 2016 Election, the Comelec had forged partnership with the country's leading mall operators as part of its efforts to provide the public convenience and better voting experience.

Only for this upcoming election, the Comelec in partnership with various malls had set up satellite voters' registration booths inside their respective malls.

Comelec Chairman Andy Bautista said in a report that "the poll body decided to bring this service to malls to help some voters who find it "difficult or inconvenient" to register in their local Comelec offices."

Bautista cited that he saw no legal impediment to elections being held in malls. It is stipulated in section 42 of the Omnibus Election Code that "public schools or any other public buildings within the barangay shall be used as polling places."

The mall-based voters' registration and biometrics validation were made available since July of 2015.

Some of the participating partner malls are Ayala, Robinsons, SM, and Walter Mart, among others. In Davao City Gaisano Mall of Davao (Gmall), SM City and SM Lanang Premiere, Abreeza Ayala Mall and NCCC Mall of Davao had set up its voter's registration booths to cater for the three districts in the city.

However, with this suggestion of the Comelec, nothing is final yet if the 'Mall Voting" will push through.

"Though it is part of our major concern to provide convenience to the public when voting, we still have to finalize and plan this because security is still of our paramount concern," Lawyer Remlane Tambuang, Comelec-Davao regional director said adding that only Comelec approved personnel should be present in the voting area.

First "Social Media Elections"

Election campaigns go beyond the tri-media, TV, Radio and Print, now is the "social media" season.

Indeed, we are living now in a digital era where emergence of various social media sites, which is influential and powerful tool of acquiring information, is inevitable.

Comelec, had released a statement in August that more than ad spaces online, Comelec will be imposing rules on campaigns aired and published on video sharing sites, blogs, and other social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

This,all of because social media is seen to play a significant role in elections next year. Social media now is seen to be a platform that is accessible and most used as a source of information, which can be deciding factor for a voter's choice of candidate.

According to Nielsen survey, as of 2014, 57 percent of the country's total population uses internet, which can be translated to 58,690,221 internet Filipino users. There are some 54 millio Filipino Facebook users, 11.9 million Twitter users and 7.3 million Tumblr users.

Advanced Automated Election System

Last August, Comelec announced that they will be leasing a total of 93,977 Optical Mark Reader (OMR) voting machines from Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corporation to be used in the 2016 polls, the same company who provided the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines which was used last presidential polls.

The commission unanimously decided to lease over 93,000 OMR machines for the 2016 elections

"The Commission believes that this is the most viable, practical and safest option to pursue in our efforts to ensure the credibility of the 2016 elections," Bautista said.

The machines, which is reported to be fully delivered in January 2016, should it be delivered on time, it seen to give the Comelec an ample time for testing and also new machines are expected to address problems encountered in 2010 and 2013 elections, with the PCOS.

With just over six months before judgment day on May 9, 2016, the people as voters will be divided in two. First, between those old enough to vote and those too young to vote and those well informed to candidates' profiles and those who ride the cycle of bandwagon without self-assessment. Second is between those registered to vote and those who are not.

One thing important for the public to inculcate in minds while voting is "We are to judge," but "Are we to blame?"

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