Comelec is pilot testing a new voter registration confirmation system that would verify the identity of the voters, but it turns out that the machines are encountering their own problems.
Reports of Voter Registration Verification Machines (VRVM) malfunctioning also flood social media sites.
“Sayang pera (waste of money). Four VRVMs in Roxas High School in Quezon City did not function. Board of Elections Inspectors said machines did not recognize log-in details of BEI chair,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes Jr. tweeted.
VRVMs are supposed to be used to prevent flying voters. The machine would scan a voter’s fingerprint to determine if he/she is registered and belongs to the precinct.
The system is being tested in 32,000 precincts nationwide.
Many VRVMs in Corazon Aquino Elementary School in Taytay, Rizal also bogged down, forcing teachers to manually verify the registered voters’ identity.
VRVM’s in polling precincts in two schools in Cebu City and Talisay City also malfunctioned.
Election watchdog Kontradaya has called for the suspension of the pilot testing of VRVM.
In an interview with ANC last week, former election commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal already cautioned that the pilot testing of the new voter registration confirmation system would cause more delays in voting.
