Comelec favors abolishing printing of voters info, instruction sheets for 2025 polls

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday backed the proposal for them to do away with the traditional printing and distribution of the voters’ information and instruction sheets (VIIS) in preparation for the 2025 midterm elections.

Comelec chairman George Garcia said that not only is the printing and distribution of VIIS costly for the poll body, but many registered voters have actually complained about not receiving such sheets during the election period. 

But since it is mandated under the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, Garcia said that the law must be amended so that the Comelec no longer needs to furnish every voter a printed copy of the VIIS during the upcoming 2025 polls.

“Sa batas po natin ay mandatory at required na ang Comelec ay magpadala sa bawat mga kababayan natin ng kanilang VIIS—saan sila naka-rehistro, ano ang pangalan ng presinto nila, sino ang mga kandidato na ihahalal nila sa bawat buong probinsya, buong siyudad o bayan o sa buong Pilipinas,” he said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(In our law, it is mandatory and required that the Comelec send VIIS to voters. It includes where they are registered to vote, the name of their precinct, who are the candidates in their province, city or town, or the entire Philippines.)

“Nandoon ‘yung choices para informed sila [the choices are there so that they’ll be informed],” he added. 
According to Garcia, voters can now check their voters’ status and the location of their voting precinct using the Comelec’s online precinct finder, as well as in the list posted in the poll body’s offices.

Without the VIIS, he said Comelec can save nearly half a billion pesos for next year’s elections.

“Sumusuporta po kami diyan (tanggalin ang VIIS) para naman ‘yung matitipid diyan ay magamit namin sa ibang bagay lalo na sa mga honoraria ng ating mga guro,” Garcia added.

(We support the removal of the VIIS so that the savings can be used for other things, especially for the honoraria of our teachers.)

Last week, Senator Imee Marcos pushed for the abolition of VIIS printing as she sponsored Senate Bill No. 308 or an act amending section 185 of the Omnibus Election Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 7904, by abolishing the VIIS.

Marcos, who chairs the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation, argued that the VIIS is not only “inefficient” in terms of disseminating election information, but is also expensive for the government.

“According to [Comelec,] it costs P6.90 per registered voter to print and distribute in 2022 as there were 65.746 million registered voters in 2022, the cost reached P453-million,” she said.

“With Comelec targeting 71 million registered voters in 2025 for the national and local elections, with the ever-present of verging inflation, the cost of printing and distributing the VIIS for the 2025 national and local elections could very well exceed half a billion pesos.”

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, author of Senate Bill No. 308, said the government can also avoid wasting a lot of money because of VIIS printing by utilizing new information and communication technology instead. —RF, GMA Integrated News