You’ll never see me near any government office (not unless I have to accompany a friend) but to do business with a government office, NO WAY! I do not like long lines, which government service offices are famous for.
So it was not a surprise that it took me 11 long years to register (as a voter) here in Pasig. Last Wednesday, I managed to muster up all my courage and troop down to Pasig City Hall. As expected, the city hall was bustling with people… eto na nga ang long lines that I hate! argh! My anxiety died down as I enter the lobby.. the guards were accommodating and eager to serve and the city hall is air- conditioned! Yehey!!
Pasig City COMELEC is located at the 5th floor of the building. I finally relaxed when I saw a few people at the office. I searched for my Barangay’s window (each barangay have their own window.. bawal daw maligaw eh hehe) and I was done in less than 30 minutes.. mas matagal pa yata ang pag fill up ko ng form.
This is the easiest government transaction I ever did in my entire Filipino life. Eh paano ba naman, pagdating mo pa lang sa area ng COMELEC, nagdudumilat na ang mga poster guides.. anything you need to know/ ask, mababasa mo sa poster.
STEP 1. INTERVIEW
May interview daw? Anong sasabihin ko?!? Jusmeeee, nag handa pa naman ako ng speech, kukunin lang pala ang ID ko. What kind of ID? As I have mentioned, anything you need to know, consult the posters. See image above for the list of IDs they accept.
STEP 2. FILL- UP FORMS
Easy peasy step..they have sample forms plastered on the wall..
STEP 3. RECORDING
WOW! Recording agad! Sing and dance competition?!?
Turns out, this step is for checking of forms and precinct assignment. Umaasa ako.. umaasa ako..
STEP 4. BIOMETRICS
Nag make- up ako.. alam ko to eh..I registered at Valenzuela way back 2003.. nakuha ko ang ID ko last 2013.. we’ll discuss later why it took that long. Nagulat ako sa itsura ko..kala mo pang horror movie.
STEP 5. RELEASING
They gave me a stub and told me to return after 3 months for my precinct assignment.. Now, the burning question: When can I get my voter’s ID (where I look normal)?!?
It will take 3-5 years daw..eh malamang mukha na akong dyosa nun!
PJ Malapit from Step 1 (yes, the one smiling at the photo) explained it to me why it will take that long.. ang ganda ko daw masyado.. ganun katagal bago madevelop ang picture. CHOS!
It has something to do daw with AFIS or Automated Fingerprint Identifications System. According to him, all fingerprints of registered voters are subjected to a computerized fingerprint-matching process where they check if the voter is registered in more than one location. The checking happens at the central office, so just imagine the volume.
If I had known that registration is this easy, I should have registered dati pa. O kaya kayo, after Holy Week, go na sa nearest COMELEC office and register!
Gusto ko sana sabihin na I highly recommend Pasig City COMELEC pero hindi naman tayo lahat sa Pasig mag paparehistro (pero sinabi ko din ano).
Next government service office experience: LTO for student permit! Coming soon!
