The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday, April 1, signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for online services, such as the precinct finder, for the 2022 polls.
In his speech, Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan said they are partnering with the DICT in order to provide convenient, secure and accessible online services to the citizens.
"With the expertise and facilities of the DICT, we can expect hosting of Comelec’s different online applications to be seamless and secure," he said during the signing of the MOA in Parañaque.
"We fully trust that the DICT will ensure safe and secure web hosting services for the Comelec’s online applications," added Pangarungan.
He said these applications are the Registration Status Verifier, the Precinct Finder and Post Finder, the Online Voter Certification Application, and the Election Results Website.
Pangarungan said the Registration Status Verifier will address inquiries regarding the status of a person’s voter registration while the Precinct Finder and Post Finder will inform both local and overseas voters if their registration records are active and if they can vote on Election Day.
The Online Voter Certification Application, he said, will allow registered voters to request for issuance of Voter Certification and pay the fee online while the Election Results Website will keep the public updated on the results of the elections.
Pangarungan said they also trust that the DICT will safely and securely prepare the digital signatures of Board of Election Inspectors and Board of Canvassers, as this would be the first elections that digital signatures will be used.
"To dispel any fears among the electorate regarding security compromise, personal data and information of registered voters are encrypted. These encrypted data remain under the handling, custody, and security of the Comelec. For its part, the DICT will ensure the security of the cloud infrastructure used in hosting our online services," he said.
"All this being said, the DICT will be instrumental in fulfilling the Comelec’s objective of delivering secure, accurate, free, and fair elections," added Pangarungan.
Acting DICT Secretary Emmanuel Rey R. Caintic was present in the MOA signing.