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Tacloban City ? The Commission on Elections in Eastern Visayas (Comelec) has vowed to strictly enforce the ban on cellular phones with built-in cameras from voting precincts in the May 10, 2010 elections, to protect ballot confidentiality.
"Cellular phones with camera are prohibited to preserve the sanctity of our votes," Comelec-8 acting regional director Jose Nick Mendros said on Sunday.
Mendros said the ban on camera cell phones would foil the tactics of vote buyers, who usually demand proof before paying up.
Comelec has learned from previous polls that people who sold their votes were asked to take pictures of their ballots before collecting their fees.
Mendros spoke at a half-day seminar on the May 10 automated elections organized by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas- Eastern Visayas chapter for radio and broadcast reporters in Tacloban City.
The prohibition was just one of the "measures" that the poll body instituted to ensure credible elections, he pointed out.
"Of course, we cannot really totally do away with vote buying during elections. If a person will sell his votes, he can do it. It is a matter of one's conscience," Mendros said.
The Comelec will also prohibit the bringing of digital cameras and similar gadgets inside the voting precinct as provided under Comelec Resolution Number 8739, according to Mendros.
Mendros said the "vigilance of the citizenry" against cheating would spell the difference in ensuring honest and orderly polls. INQUIRER
