Comelec-Digos City taps trike drivers in ‘No Bio, No Boto’ campaign

DIGOS CITY,  Davao del Sur, Aug. 17  – The Commission on Elections here has tapped the help of tricycle drivers and operators as it intensifies its campaign on “No Bio, No Boto” policy.

 Lawyer Aileen Ferolino-Ampoloquio, city election officer, said the role of the drivers and operators is very vital in the continuing voters’ registration and mandatory biometrics.

 In a conference with them on Thursday morning, Ampoloquio asked them to place “No Bio, No Boto” posters in their tricycles as she educated them on the common questions relative to mandatory biometrics to all voting population.

“In this way, they can also answer queries of their passengers,” she said.

According to Comelec, about 4.3 million Filipino voters have not had their biometrics taken, which is a a requirement to vote in the 2016 national and local elections with October 31, 2015 as the validation deadline.

Comelec has recently installed registration and off-site validation centers in shopping malls to serve those who have yet to validate their registration.

Under the biometric system, voter’s information including picture, fingerprint, and signature are recorded on the Comelec database. These are used to purge multiple registrants from the final voters' list.

On election day, voters must first validate their biometrics before they can cast their votes.

The Comelec will be "aggressive" in pursuing its "No Bio, No Boto" campaign, which is a condition of Republic Act 10367, or An Act Providing For Mandatory Biometrics Voter Registration, which was promulgated on June 26, 2013.

The law provides that registered voters whose biometrics have not been captured shall submit themselves for validation in order to establish complete lists of voters with complete biometrics data for the May 2016 national and local polls.

Voters who would fail to submit themselves for validation shall be deactivated and will only be able to apply for reactivation of their registration records after the May 2016 elections. (CDIO-Magsaysay/Anthony S. Allada)