That means more than one in every seven names are bogus. The Comelec has been trying to modernize since 1992, but progress is slow and piecemeal. To clean up the list, a multibillion-peso program will use computer technology to track down and identify nearly every Filipino voter by 2004. All data will be stored in a central computer and regularly updated and matched to check for any anomalies. On election day itself, terminals at Comelec offices throughout the country would be able to access the database in order to verify voter identities.
Fingerprints are the most reliable and cheapest to take.
VRIS mixes high tech with a lot of grunt work. To prevent wrong data from being encoded, special teams are to survey all households in each precinct, identifying potential voters. The data will be stored on CDs and transferred to the Comelec's central computer. Tancangco says the commission has invited bids and plans to start testing systems late this year. Based on the schedule laid down, the system will be able to account for a million voters next year, when the Philippines holds its congressional elections.