Voters advised to use online precinct finder
ILOILO City – To avoid delay and overcrowding in classrooms, particularly in the first few hours of the opening of polling precincts as observed in the previous elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) advised registered voters to use the newly launched online precinct finder for the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
According to Atty. Reinier Layson, Provincial Election Supervisor and concurrent City Election Officer of ComelecIloilo, the online precinct finder is a big help so that voters can find out if their name is on the list of those who can vote and find out the polling place and precinct number ahead of time.
“Kon indi nila mabalan, naga- crowd sila sa listahan kag ini naga- cause sang delay kag inconvenient pa sa ila tungod they will spend time looking for their names and precinct number. Whereas, kung gamiton na nila ining enhancement nga ginhatag sang Comelec sa
proseso naton sa election, we are giving them an opportunity to know ahead of the elections ang ila precinct assignment so that pagkadto nila sa mga voting centers kabalo na sila, mas madasig ang conduct sang elections, and mas maiwasan ang overcrowding sa first step diri sa voting centers,” Layson told Panay News.
To search online, voters may scan the QR code or access https://precinctfinder.comelec.gov.ph/voter precinct.
Once the site is opened, voters will have to provide information such as their full name, date of birth and place of registration.
Aside from the technological initiative, Comelec-Iloilo will install Voters Assistance Desks (VAD) inside schools since not all voters have Android cell phones.
“Ang aton mga botante, the first thing that they would do upon entry sa ating voting centers is to look for the voter assistance desk kag diri nila pangitaon ang ila pangalan or precinct,” said Layson.
He added: “So, kon may overcrowding sa posted list of voters sa VAD or outsides ang polling place, puede gid maka-deretso sa polling places ang aton botante kag pangitaon ang ila pangalan. But ang akon nga gina- warn, this will take time; that’s why importante gid ya ang pag- gamit sang precinct finder.”