Voter’s ID printing stopped, certification substituted

Voters still without their IDs from the Commission on Election (Comelec) will no longer receive them and must instead secure a voter's certificate from the commission.

"Hindi na po kami nagiimprenta ng voter ID. Kung hindi pa nai-out ang ID ninyo, ibig sabihin kung hindi pa 'yun nasa office ng EO [election officer] ngayong araw na ito, wala na," Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said Wednesday in a forum in Manila.

Jimenez stated earlier that the printing of the IDs was suspended once Congress began discussions on the national ID system.

"Pinigil po natin yung printing ng voter ID dahil umaarangkada na po yung national ID. So para maiwasan yung duplication, maiwasan yung gastos pinigil na po yung printing ng voter ID," he said.

He said voter's IDs were not required to vote, and were most commonly used as documentary proof to apply for passports.

The Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on May 14 will be the first barangay and youth council polls in five years.

Movements in senate and congress postponed the BSKE twice and a third attempt to put it off until October was halted when the Senate failed to file a complementary bill to the one filed in the lower house. — BM, GMA News