Comelec warns public against fake voter’s ID

FILE: Director James Jimenez (left) during the Broadcasters’ Forum held at Roland’s Farm to Table Restaurant along Visayas Ave., Quezon City on Wednesday (April 24, 2019).  (PNA photo by Ben Briones)

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday warned the public against unscrupulous persons producing fake voter identification (ID) cards.

“The ‘fake news’ that a person has to be a registered voter in order to receive government aid during this Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) national health crisis, seems to have created a market for fake voter identification cards. Anyone who claims to be able to produce a ‘Comelec-issued voter ID’ is a scammer who is trying to take advantage of the public,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a statement.

This came amid recent reports that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested two individuals for allegedly producing and selling online spurious voter’s ID cards.

Jimenez reiterated that a person need not be a registered voter to be able to get financial assistance from the government during the health crisis.

Earlier, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said being a registered voter is not a factor in determining who gets into the list of beneficiaries of the government’s social amelioration program.

Jimenez, meanwhile, reminded the public that the poll body has stopped issuing voter’s IDs since 2012.

“The Comelec has stopped issuing (voter’s) IDs, in anticipation of the launch of the National ID system,” he added.