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Philippines

Poll lawyer urges Comelec to suspend use of Precinct Finder

Philippines

Poll lawyer urges Comelec to suspend use of Precinct Finder

By Leslie Ann Aquino

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal on Wednesday, April 27, asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to suspend its online Precinct Finder, saying it is causing confusion among voters and it may lead to massive disfranchisement.

Romulo Macalintal

"I think its time to suspend the use of this. I call on the Comelec, let us stop using this system because it is not really helping our electorate," he said in a statement.

"It is causing a lot of confusion," added Macalintal.

The poll lawyer issued the call after receiving numerous complaints from voters who cannot find their names, and from those who records have been deactivated or placed under review.

Macalintal said the system may lead to massive disenfranchisement of voters, especially among the young and newly registered voters who use Precinct Finder to verify their record.

"The moment they find out that they have no record because the Precinct Finder said no record found, they may not go further," he said.

"Because they believe in what the Precinct Finder said, they will not vote on May 9. This is very, very dangerous. It may cause massive disenfranchisement of voters," Macalintal added.

He advised those who received wrong information from Precinct Finder to go to their respective election officers where they can verify their name and status.

Macalintal said voters can also verify their names on the list posted outside their precincts on election day.

This is aside from the Election Day Certified Voters List (EDCVL) where voters whose names are not included on this list cannot cast their votes on election day.

Related Tags

Romulo Macalintal Comelec precinct finder Commission on Elections

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