Comelec to file raps vs ARMM ‘flying registrants’

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to file criminal charges against 110,000 residents of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) who were found to have registered twice or several times using different names, in an apparent move to become "flying voters" in the May 10 polls.

Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. said the multiple registrants were found by a team of French computer experts who scanned the fingerprints of ARMM registrants stored in the agency’s data capturing machine.

"This is the first time that the Comelec will file criminal charges against double and multiple registrants. This campaign will be expanded to other areas in the country," Abalos said in a Quezon City forum.

Aside from the criminal charges, these erring registrants — who represent 10 percent of the ARMM registered voters — will also be delisted and barred from voting in the May elections, he said.

If found guilty, they face a one-year jail term without probation.

The multiple registrants were uncovered in the two Lanao provinces, Maguindanao, Cotabato City and Zamboanga City, among other areas in Mindanao. Some of them reportedly arrived on board motorized bancas when they listed up last year.

The Comelec has yet to establish if the presence of multiple registrants was part of an orchestrated move.

Abalos advised those who registered twice to come forward and decide where they would vote, and be spared from criminal charges.

The poll body is expected to come up with the final list of voters on Feb. 10.