Senate probe sought on ‘fraudulent’ voter registrations

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Imee Marcos is calling for a Senate investigation into the allegedly fraudulent registration of voters for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls slated for October.

Marcos noted in Senate Resolution No. 592 that “flying voters” or voters who are registered in multiple precincts and voters who are not bona fide residents of the place where they are registered still persist.

“Given the persistent problems on flying voters and fraudulent voter registrations, there is an urgent need to revisit existing election laws including, but not limited to, the Voter’s Registration Act of 1996 and the relevant portions of the Omnibus Election Code, so that necessary changes may be made in order to decisively address these long-standing issues,” said Marcos, who chairs the Senate electoral reforms panel.

She cited as an example a report on the column by Jarius Bondoc published in The STAR newspaper which claimed that Barangay Carmona in Makati City saw a 78 percent increase in its registered voters, defying population forecasts.

Barangay Carmona chairperson Joselito Salvador also said that there was no mass migration of new residents nor increase in the barangay’s territory.

“Concerns have been voiced out that the situation in Barangay Carmona may be happening in many other barangays all over the country,” Marcos said. 

She added, “There are allegations that the purported massive fraudulent voter registrations are bankrolled by big-time businessmen, contractors and suppliers in anticipation of the increase in the internal revenue allotment of barangays.” — Xave Gregorio