27 'flying voters' nabbed in Maguindanao del Norte

COTABATO CITY —  Commission on Elections officials and the police are now preparing charges against 27 "flying voters" who were apprehended while trying to sneak through polling precincts in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections last Monday.

Lt. Col. Esmael Madin, chief of the Datu Odin Sinsuat municipal police, told reporters on Thursday that the 27 people, some of them from other towns, will be charged with violation of the Omnibus Election Code.

Soldiers, policemen and teachers facilitating Monday's election activities seized from them fake voters identification cards with Comelec seal.

Madin said the fake IDs  have photos of each owner, but bearing different names.

“We ought to thank the tipsters, among them legitimate voters, who informed us about the being `flying voters’ of these 27 persons our personnel had apprehended in turns last Monday,” Madin said.

Officials of Comelec’s Bangsamoro regional office said that the commission will not tolerate the offense of the 27 "flying voters," now in the custody of the Datu Odin Sinsuat municipal police.