The Commission on Elections introduced on Tuesday, June 15, an Android smartphone application that aims to streamline and speed up the voter registration process, especially in areas with poor internet connectivity, the poll body said.

Play Video

In a statement on Monday, June 14, Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo said the Mobile Registration Form app will generate a QR code upon successful accomplishment of the voter registration form. 

Applicants must save the QR code in their smartphone, and present it to their local Comelec office to have their biometrics taken.

“The launch of the mobile app is very timely in the face of mobility restrictions brought about by COVID-19, because you will only need a smartphone to accomplish the form,” said Casquejo, who conceptualized the project.

“This will save time, effort and money that will otherwise be spent on going to a computer shop to download and print the form, or getting the form at the local Comelec office to fill it out manually,” he added.

The project was launched in Tagum, Davao del Norte on Tuesday. 

The smartphone application was initially downloadable online through MediaFire, until the poll body took it down on Thursday, June 17, “in order to prioritize its use in the pilot areas identified by the Comelec.”

Voter applicants may still download the app via Bluetooth or SHAREit when they visit their local Comelec offices.

Some 500 pilot areas were chosen for the pilot rollout, but none were in Metro Manila.

It comes only three months before the deadline of voter registration on September 30, 2021.

The Comelec said on June 17 that there were already 60 million Filipinos eligible to cast their ballots for the 2022 national elections.

The poll body also revealed that it already surpassed its projection of four million new voters for the May 9, 2022 vote. — Rappler.com