Inmates can finally vote in 2010 polls – Comelec exec

MANILA, Philippine - More than 45,000 inmates will be allowed to vote in the coming May 2010 elections. Poll Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has finally approved the mechanisms that will allow the inmates to register and cast their ballots in the next year's polls through "satellite registration and escorted voting." “This would be the first time in Philippine election history that these detainees [who have not been given] final sentence will be empowered to register and vote," said Comelec Committee on Detainee Registration and Voting chairman Commissioner Rene Sarmiento. In a resolution, Sarmiento said inmates who were not yet convicted of the case would be permitted to vote. Sarmiento explained the program aims to empower prisoners that still possess their rights before government officials since they would be perceived as an important bloc of voters. “This will give them leverage to public officials as they will have the power to vote… government officials will now be listening to them," Sarmiento said. According to Sarmiento, satellite registrations will be conducted in jails where there are at least 200 detainees who have not been convicted of the crime they committed. Sarmiento said they will ask the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to identify jails or prison centers that have the right number of inmates that would be covered by this resolution. “Kasi ’pag below 200 naman ang registrants, parang sayang naman yung pagdala ng registration dun (It will not be worth it if the number of registrants is below 200)," Sarmiento explained. He added that those who may register and vote are only qualified residents of the city or municipality where they are incarcerated. On the voting process, Sarmiento said detainees who could be allowed to vote are those given the court order since they would need police escorts when they go outside jail premises. “Hindi pwede ang satellite voting since the law prohibits yung paglabas ng balota sa presinto so escorted voting na siya (Satellite voting is out of the question since we cannot bring the ballots out of voting precincts)," Sarmiento said. But according to Sarmiento, they are set to urge Congress to pass a bill that would allow voting in jail compounds, specifically in the office of the jail warden, in order to minimize logistical requirements. “Kung aabot ito, yun sana mas maganda. Pero kung hindi, escorted voting na talaga," he said. On the other hand, Sarmiento said that those who will be convicted of the crime before the May 10 polls, will not be allowed to exercise their rights to vote. “If he is registered but is convicted before May 10, he will be disqualified dahil sentensyado na siya e," the poll official noted. - GMANews.TV