COMELEC and DFA Working to Implement Online Voter Registration

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is considering allowing people with passports to register without any “personal appearance”.

Rowena Guanzon, COMELEC commissioner, said they are now studying a plan to use the biometric data from the DFA for online registration.

Currently, to register as a voter applicants are required to physically go to COMELEC offices or satellite registration centers so that voters can submit their fingerprints, picture, and signature.

Guanzon said “This online method of registration needs no personal appearance and will encourage Filipinos all over the world and within the country who have passports to register,”

“We don’t need a law for this. Means and methods of elections is the sole discretion of COMELEC, according to Supreme Court rulings,”

Guanzon added the plan is “not only timely, but also necessary” as the government attempts to minimize any physical gatherings and interactions due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.