Senator Nancy Binay wants full accountability from barangay officials responsible for “abusing” the issuance of barangay residence certificates as a requirement for voter transfer or registration.
A previous Supreme Court ruling has allowed the practice of accepting barangay residence certifications in the absence of a valid government ID.
“There are addresses in Makati provided by transferees and registrants that are either non-existent, uninhabited, or unfit for living.”
In a recent report submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), there are addresses in Makati provided by transferees and registrants that are either non-existent, uninhabited, or unfit for living.
Binay added that these facts alone can already be deemed as “suspicious” and be flagged for investigation.
Upon checking, these said “registrants” failed to meet residency requirements as they are not actual residents of the district.
There have been reports that barangay chairmen would issue residence certificates without verifying if they are legitimate residents of the said villages.
“The highly irregular surge of voter transferees in the two congressional districts of Makati was brought about by the massive issuance of barangay certifications.”
In the budget deliberations in the Senate, the Comelec confirmed the highly irregular surge of voter transferees in the two congressional districts of Makati was brought about by the massive issuance of barangay certifications.
“The data for Makati is fairly clear because the questions arose during the exclusion effort, and sa Makati, ang bagong rehistro ay 18,555 sa dalawang distrito, pero ang transfer mula sa ibang siyudad, munisipyo, nasa 38,031, kaya kung idadagdag ‘yung dalawa, ‘yung bago at saka transfer, nasa 56,586,” explained Senator Imee Marcos, who is sponsoring the Comelec’s budget.
“Base po sa experience ng Comelec, I guess based on their historical data, ‘yung numero po ba na ito ay posible na nabawasan ng sampung barangay ang Makati pero nadagdagan ng 38,031 ang transferees?” Binay asked.
There has been an “unusual”‘ increase of 55% in the number of new voters in the second district of Makati and 15% in the first district, far from the about 5% the “normal rise” in the voting population.
“Sang-ayon ang Comelec na very unusual kasi nga nabawasan ng sampung barangay, ngunit 57,000 halos ang nadagdag na botante,” Marcos confirmed.
According to Binay, criminal cases may likely be filed if these barangay officials are found to be involved in the anomalous voter registrations, or if they have engaged in the commission, facilitation, complicity or in any irregularity in violation of election laws.
Comelec chairman George Garcia said the en banc will study the recommendation of the Election Registration Board (ERB) and the task force formed to investigate the surge of voters and prosecute barangay officials responsible for the issue.
