The changes brought by the advancement in information technology are beneficial. One of the products therein is biometrics. The before manual registration on elections now turned into registration through biometrics. Filipinos must register in the biometrics to be able to vote. Failure to do so will stop them from voting in the current elections.
The first of this kind of registration happened in the previous presidential elections. One may not be able to register twice under two or more different names since biometrics is already used. The fraud may be lessened this way if not totally eliminated. On the otherhand, anyone who failed to register through the biometrics cannot vote. This is I think reasonable. To be able to enjoy this right, one must follow the procedures laid down by law. The law requires that one must register in order to check if he has all the qualifications set by our Constitution.
According to the Constitution, the right to suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years old and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year, and in place where they propose to vote for at least six months prior the election. Those who failed to register are rendered disqualified from exercising their rights to suffrage.
According to the Omnibus Election Code, it shall be the obligation of every voter qualified to vote to register and cast his vote. Therefore, those who failed to register through biometrics cannot vote.
This is just an evolution of the previous manual registration where people who also failed to register are not allowed to vote. There was just a change in the means of registering. One may vote so long as he has the qualifications laid down by law supported through his registration.
No comments:
Post a Comment