Comelec Commissioner Athrur Lim take his biometric registration as overseas voters of Hongkong at DFA Aseana voting field registration center in Macapagal Ave. Pasay City on Wednesday. (MNS Photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – A lawmaker scored Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista Monday for warning of a possible delay in the May 9, 2016 elections if the Supreme Court failed to lift the temporary restraining order on its “No Bio, No Boto” policy.
Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, the lead petitioner in the case questioning the constitutionality of the Comelec’s initiative, said the upcoming national and local elections is not an event that could be arbitrarily moved to suit the poll body’s convenience.
“The right to suffrage is a fundamental right. Why threaten to postpone the elections just because the Supreme Court granted a well-meaning petition that will benefit about three million voters? The Comelec should have instituted a way to cleanse the voter records of so-called flying voters without infringing upon the rights of active voters to continue exercising their right to vote,” he said.
Ridon said he and other petitioners questioned the constitutionality of the “No Bio, No Boto” scheme to defend the right to suffrage of over 3 million voters who failed to have their biometrics taken.
“Instead of threatening to postpone the elections just to force the SC to lift the TRO, the Comelec should focus on the much-needed adjustments to allow people covered by this TRO to vote,” he said.
On Sunday, Bautista raised the possibility that next year’s elections may be postponed since the continued implementation of the TRO could affect the poll body’s preparations.
He said he is planning to submit the poll body’s comment to the the SC’s TRO before the Dec. 11 deadline set by the Court to show that failure to lift the order could adversely affect the conduct of the upcoming national and local elections.
The case stemmed from a 32-page petition for certiorari and prohibition filed last November 25 by Kabataan party-list to assail the constitutionality of the Comelec’s “No Bio, No Boto” policy, which is expected to result in three million registered voters not being able to vote next year.
The group, in its petition, contested the legality of the deactivation of the registration of voters without biometrics, and asked the SC to enjoin the implementation of the provisions of Republic Act No. 10367 or the Mandatory Biometrics Law and nullify Comelec resolution No. 9721, 9863, and 10013, which are all related to the deactivation of voter registration records in the May 9, 2016 national and local elections.
Ridon said the Comelec only has itself to blame for any delay it might encounter in its preparations.
“As to the number of voters, cluster precincts, and other logistical concerns that the Comelec is raising, the burden will only return to their court. It is the poll body’s fault if it did not adequately prepare for these logistical issues,” he said. (MNS)