By Bob Reyes
The Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) promised to bring the COMELEC Precinct Finder back online in time for the polls this Monday. In an interview, DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio, Jr. said that they are almost done hardening the website functionality following the “Comeleaks” incident in 2016.
It may be recalled that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) website had a Precinct Finder function for the voting public to easily find their polling precinct on election day. However, the said functionality was disabled after the commission’s website was defaced before the 2016 national elections. The website defacement also resulted in sensitive voter information to be breached. The COMELEC Precinct Finder has since then been deactivated, following an investigation by the National Privacy Commission (NPC).
Contrary to the promise of DICT in bringing back the Precinct Finder later today, COMELEC spokesperson James Jimenez said in a social media post that a formal announcement in bringing back the Precinct Finder back online has yet to be made. Jimenez said that as of Thursday this week, an issue with the website has yet to be resolved.
For the time being, Jimenez said that the voting public may send a Direct Message to @COMELEC via Twitter to know their polling precinct on Monday. Voters only need to send the following information to @COMELEC to know their assigned polling precinct: full name (First Name, Middle Name, & Family Name; for married women, include Maiden Name), the locality of the registered as a voter (barangay, town, and province).