IN 2012, the Comelec made the decision to discontinue the issuance of Voter IDs, in anticipation of the arrival of the new National ID system. And although the National ID still hasn’t been launched (the whole idea got a boost during the early days of the lockdowns, but I haven’t heard much about it since), the Comelec still does not issue new Voter IDs.
Just to be clear, the Voter IDs actually issued before 2012—if you haven’t claimed yours yet—are probably already available at the Comelec office of the city or municipality where you registered. But that’s all that’s left. There will be no new Voter IDs issued—at least for the time being.
Not needed for voting …
From an elections perspective, this is not particularly worrisome. Voter IDs are not required for the exercise of your right of suffrage. In fact, coupling the right to vote with an ID requirement can be—and has been—used as a particularly effective voter suppression tactic. Imagine being able to disenfranchise indirectly, but not less effectively, by simply refusing to give them a ballot unless they can produce a valid Voter ID.
Thankfully, if you’re already a registered voter, all you need is any valid ID—a driver’s license, a company ID, or a school ID—for as long as it can be used to prove that you are eligible to vote in the place where you want to vote. For practical reasons, this means that you—if challenged—are expected to be able to prove that you live in the place where you’re planning to cast your ballot.
Unfortunately, there are still many, many, people who believe that they can’t vote without a voter ID. Unscrupulous political operators take advantage of this by deliberately fostering that belief in people who don’t know better and have no easy access to information resources. In other words, a huge chunk of the electorate.
…but useful still
This is not to say, however, that the Voter ID previously being issued by the Comelec was devoid of value. To the contrary, leaving aside that it was not necessary for voting, the Voter ID was, in fact, useful for almost everything else.
Banks accepted it as a second ID, on a par with a Passport or a Driver’s License; so did hospitals, schools, and local government units. In short, everywhere you needed to prove who you were, a Voter ID was likely to be honored. This was because the Voter ID was categorized as a “government-issued” ID.
And on top of that, you didn’t have to have a job to get it; you didn’t need to be able to drive to qualify for it; and it literally cost you nothing to get. The fact that it was free and so widely-honored made the Voter ID a truly desirable identification document. Except you couldn’t use it to vote.
Which, of course, meant little to people who proudly boast that they only register for the ID—people for whom democracy is just a matter of form. Ironically, these are typically also the people who very quickly fall for grifters and scammers who promise that they can provide a Voter ID, for an exorbitant fee, of course.
Fakes are not worth it.
A word to the wise: don’t believe these scammers who tell you they can get you a voter ID. No matter how authentic those little bits of card may seem to you, they are guaranteed fakes. And there’s a very real chance they might get you in some very authentic hot water.
The lawyer friend I asked about this rattled off so many potential violations I lost track. For one thing, a person possessing a fake ID in their name or bearing their image could get in real trouble for the falsification of a public document. You might even say that since a voter’s ID may only be issued upon the authority of the Commission, then a fake ID is most likely an election offense. And then there are possible charges of counterfeiting or imitating signatures—a felony under the Revised Penal Code.
Over all, going for that fake ID is a risky proposition. It’s also not very intelligent considering that voter certifications are so easy to get legally. Many—if not all—of the agencies and offices (even businesses) accept the voter certification as proof of a person’s status as a registered voter. Most prominent of these agencies, of course, is the Department of
Foreign Affairs.