MANILA — Voters may now be able to know the polling precincts where they will vote for Monday’s mid-term elections.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) announced on Friday that the public may access the Precinct Finder through its website www.gov.ph/web/precinctfinder to confirm their voter status, as well as the location of their voting precincts, by filling up the required field items — first name, middle name, last name and address.
The website also contains options for voters who would not be able to locate their polling precincts due to certain circumstances.
“We encourage voters to visit the Precinct Finder website in order to confirm their voter status and the location of the voting precinct before they vote on May 13 (Election Day),” DICT Acting Secretary and Commission on Elections Advisory Council Chairperson Eliseo Rio Jr. said in a statement.
Rio clarified that the visited link prior to the official announcement was only a test website, hence the inconsistencies in some voter’s status.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has earlier advised voters to either send them a direct message on Twitter via @radyocomelec to be able to determine their polling precincts, or visit the Comelec office in their area.
DFA, Comelec preparing for OAV closing
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs – Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS) met with poll body officials on Thursday to discuss preparations for the closing of the month-long overseas voting for the mid-term polls.
In a statement, DFA-OVS Acting Vice Chairperson Edgardo Castro said that despite numerous challenges on the conduct and management of the elections overseas, Philippine embassies and consulates have pulled through, with this year’s mid-term elections having the highest voter turnout for any senatorial and party-list election.
Castro also credited the high number of voter turnout to the embassies’ and consulates’ efforts to encourage Filipinos overseas to register as voters.
The number of registered overseas voters has climbed to 1.8 million, bringing this year’s mid-term elections second only to the 2016 presidential elections, which saw the highest voter turnout in the history of overseas voting since the Overseas Absentee Voting Act was signed into law in 2003.
The DFA-OVS is currently preparing for the arrival of the Special Board of Canvassers Chairs in Manila, who will bring the actual election returns from the Philippine embassies and consulates after tabulating the results in their areas.
