Ban use, not entry, of cellphones inside precincts Recto
Ilagay sa bulsa, huwag gamitin panglitrato ng balota.

This should be the rule on cellular phones during the May 14 elections, Sen. Ralph Recto said, as confusion reigns on the Commission on Elections order Wednesday banning cameras and mobile phones inside voting precincts.

What the Comelec should do is allow phones and cameras inside precincts but prohibit their use inside these voting places, Recto said.

There can be notices on the doors of precincts telling voters not to use their phones while inside. It is a reminder that can be verbally reiterated by a member of the Board of Election Inspectors as he or she hands out the ballot to the voter, Recto said.

Recto said the possibility of a voter taking a picture of the ballot he or she had filled up is close to nil as the precinct, usually a small classroom, is crawling with watchers of candidates.

Anybody taking a picture can be caught as there are no curtained off voting booths in the country, only what are called voting secrecy folders put on top of armchairs," Recto said.

Recto said it would not be wise to totally ban cellular phones inside precincts.

First, there will be resistance from voters because of the Filipinos attachment to what has become an indispensable personal device. Turnout could even be lower, he said.

Recto said it is also wrong to portray a cellphone-cum-camera as solely a vote-buying accessory because it can also be an anti-cheating device as it can easily record scenes of fraud and terrorism.