Philippine government aims to implement biometric voting

01 June 2011

Posted by Jayne Kavanagh

The Government in the Philippines has proposed new legislation intended to create a system of voting that employs biometric identification.

Under the plans, outlined in a bill to the nation's Parliament, those planning to participate in ballots will be required to register their details in order to do so.

The Government wants the system to be implemented ahead of the 2013 mid-term elections, with information taken from citizens including their fingerprints.

Intended to improve the verification of voters, the solution would prevent those who have not submitted biometric data from expressing their opinion in the election.

Having passed the third reading stage in the House of Representatives, the bill looks set to come into law and Susan Yap, author of the proposal, has stated it could "cure the perennial problem of multiple registrants and flying voters" in the country.

The Philippine Government launched a new electronic biometric passport in the country in 2011.