Comelec precinct finder now accessible

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Precinct Finder is now accessible to those who will be casting their votes for the Oct. 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).

Voters will just need to input their full name, date of birth and place of registration to access the system and easily search for their designated voting center, polling place and precinct number, according to the Comelec.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the Department of Information and Communications Technology gave its go signal for the relaunching of the Precinct Finder, which was slightly delayed because of the recent cyberattacks on government websites.

Since the hacking of the Comelec website in 2016, Garcia said the commission has put up measures that prevented numerous cyberattacks during the 2022 elections.

Comelec has ordered the disqualification of 100 candidates in the upcoming BSKE and the approval of a resolution suspending the proclamation of 500 BSKE candidates.

Garcia said the Comelec suspended the proclamation of the BSKE candidates with pending cases ranging from premature and illegal campaigning to vote buying.

The order to suspend the proclamation, Garcia said, is just a “stop gap” measure in case the Comelec is unable to resolve all pending disqualification cases.

The poll chief further gave assurance that the commission will resolve all pending disqualification cases in a week or two weeks after the elections.

Garcia said the Comelec is directing all election officers to inform the board of canvassers not to proclaim those with suspension orders.

Among the candidates disqualified, Garcia said, are SK candidates who violated the anti-dynasty prohibition as well as those with perpetual disqualification to hold public office as decided by the Office of the Ombudsman. –  Cecille Suerte Felipe, Evelyn Macairan, Emmanuel Tupas