CODE-NGO joins #ListaNaYan voters’ biometrics registration campaign

Renee Juliene Karunungan

The next elections are coming close and there are only three months left for voters to register and have their biometrics taken by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). As mandated by R.A 10367, those who do not have biometrics in time for the next elections will be considered deactivated and not be eligible to vote. According to Dir. James Jimenez from the Education and Information Department of the COMELEC, there are still 4.7 million voters without biometrics.

According to the data, the top 10 areas with number of voters without biometrics are: Davao (first and second district), Bacoor, Caloocan City (first district), Cabanatuan, Binangonan, Batangas City, Taguig City, Quezon City (fifth district), and Dasmarinas. 

Samahan Para sa Tunay na Eleksyon (STEP) Coalition, composed of government agencies, civil society organizations, and a quasi-government organization, launched a campaign last June 30 at the Ateneo Professional Schools to help encourage voters to register for biometrics. The campaign, called #ListaNaYan will run until October 31, the last day or registration.

Members of the coalition include COMELEC, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE), Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB), Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines- National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-NASSA), World Vision, and Radyo Veritas.

STEP campaigns both online and offline. Aside from an ongoing social media campaign participated in by all members, the coalition has organized satellite registration sites in different areas. STEP also campaigns to bring access of registration to persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples.

For more information about the campaign visit the STEP Coalition Facebook page.

Renee Juliene Karunungan is the Program Officer for Advocacy of CODE-NGO. She likes to read and write and regularly blogs on reneekarunungan.com.