The situation may have gone bad to worse, much worse. Many of us recall the recent mandatory fingerprinting implemented within the INC. In case some of you don't know yet, this is not merely a rumor. Both left and right thumb prints are required for the updated "R201" forms of the INC.
This raised many questions among members and non-members alike. Why would the INC want their member's fingerprints? What could they possibly do with them? The Iglesia ni Cristo's official answer would probably be along the lines of "To show unity" or "To prove obedience and submission to the administration."
I don't buy it. Let's do some research:
In 2013, the Philippines put in place the Mandatory Biometrics Registration Act. This would prevent voter fraud, which has the potential to sway elections in favor of one candidate. Under this act, voter fraud would be incredibly difficult. Voters would have to identify themselves using (you guessed it) fingerprints.
Well perhaps fingerprints alone aren't enough to commit voter fraud. However, the R201 form contains all identifiable information including : ID numbers, social media accounts, date of birth, place of birth, names of relatives, references, full name, home address, and countless other personal information.
Now we shouldn't jump to conclusions here. Just because they ask for fingerprints doesn't mean they want to commit voter fraud. However, we can't help but be suspicious when the 2016 Philippine Presidential election is coming up amidst the new R201. It doesn't help their case that the fingerprints are mandatory. It doesn't help their case when the fingerprints are required by the end of August, 2015. It most certainly doesn't help their case when members will be expelled if they do not fill out their R201 forms on time.