View source for 7.17 percent of Zambo Sur voters have no biometrics

*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2015/10/03/717-percent-zambo-sur-voters-have-no-biometrics-433758
*Saturday, October 3, 2015
:By Bong Garcia

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has advised the registered voters in Zamboanga del Sur to validate their data with the election office immediately as the deadline for validation and registration nears.

The deadline for the validation and registration of voters is on October 31 this year.

Zamboanga del Sur election supervisor Jossil Macute said that 38,440, which represents 7.17 percent of the total 496,180 registered voters in the province, do not have biometrics.

Macute said that Zamboanga del Sur should have a total of 607,998 registered voters, based on the records of the 2013 mid-term elections.

Macute said the number of registered voters was trimmed down by 111,818 to 496,180 as of July 20 this year following the validation of voters by the Election Registration Board (ERB).

Macute said the names of the 111,818 voters were delisted as some of them failed to cast their vote for two consecutive elections.

Macute added the others were delisted after they were found to be double registrants through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) matching reports, have transferred to other place and have already died.

Meanwhile, Pagadian City Acting Election Officer Anacleta Balinton said 11 percent of the total registered voters in her area do not have biometrics.

Balinton said that 13,607 voters representing 11 percent of the 123,007 registered voters of this city have no biometrics with her office.

Balinton said this city has 126,686 registered voters based on the 2013 election records but was reduced to 123,007 as some of them failed to vote in two consecutive elections, have died, found to be double registrants and have transferred to other places.

The election office of Pagadian City is separate from that of Zamboanga del Sur, which covers the province’ 26 municipalities.