Comelec finds half a million double or multiple registrations for Eleksyon 2025

More than 500,000 individuals have double or multiple registrations for the 2025 May elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Monday. 

Based on the data shared with reporters, the Comelec monitored a total of 532,837 applicants having duplicate fingerprints on their automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) from July to September 30, 2024. 

“Sabi ng mga eksperto…at ng Korte Suprema, ang isang tao ay may isang fingerprint. Walang tao sa mundo, kahit magkakambal ang parehas ang fingerprints…Kaya ‘yung AFIS bagamat matagal na nakikita at nakikita pa rin sino ang magkakatulad,” said Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia in an interview. 

(Experts and the Supreme Court said no two people have the same fingerprints. That’s why we still refer to the AFIS to monitor duplicated fingerprints.)

According to Garcia, the poll body may file election offenses against individuals with double or multiple registrations. However, the commission will still investigate the possible reasons for the duplicates. 

“Titingnan din natin kung ano ang kadahilanan muna…Ang sinasabi namin baka sa part din namin ang problema,” he said. 

(We will investigate the possible reasons and see if we are also accountable .)

All Comelec Election Registration Boards (ERBs) are set to convene before the end of the month for a special meeting to remove applicants with hits on AFIS and determine if they have double or multiple registrations, Garcia added. 

The latest data from the Comelec showed the number of voters for the 2025 NLE and Bangsamoro elections totaled over 68 million. —Sundy Locus/NB, GMA Integrated News