MANILA, Philippines — The party led by Sen. Nancy Binay, who is gunning for Makati City’s mayoral seat, flagged what it deemed as suspicious voter registrants in the city.
JV Bautista, secretary-general of the United Nationalist Alliance, went to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) local office in Makati on Monday to file an opposition against more than 3,000 registrants in the 2nd district and 79 more in the 1st district.
Bautista specifically flagged the high number of registrants and transferees in the 2nd district, which is under Rep. Luis Campos.
Campos, the husband of outgoing Mayor Abby Binay, is also aiming to become the city’s next local chief executive, locking horns with Sen. Binay.
“Dito sa district two, marami-rami ang kinarga nila (Here in district two, they added quite a lot),” Bautista said in an interview.
“Ito po ay dala ng pagkakalipat ng maraming barangay galing ng Makati papuntang Taguig (This is due to the transfer of several barangays from Makati to Taguig),” he added.
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In 2022, the Supreme Court ordered the transfer of 10 “embo” villages to Taguig, leaving Makati’s 2nd district with only three villages under it.
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Bautista also cited specific examples, like 38 individuals registered at the same address and other registrants declaring residences which turned out to be vacant lots.
“Meron kaming nakikita, 38 individuals nasa iisang address, parang impossible naman ‘yun. At least, prima facie, ang hirap ipaliwanag, maraming tao, hindi pare-pareho ang surnames nila,” Bautista said.
(We’ve seen 38 individuals registered at the same address, which seems impossible. At least, prima facie, it’s hard to explain since there are many people with different surnames.)
“Meron din kaming nakita na mga naka-rehistro pero pag in-ocular mo yung address na binibigay, it turns out to be a vacant lot, eh hindi pupwede ‘yun,” he added.
(We also saw registrants’ addresses, when, once undergoing ocular inspection, turned out to be a vacant lot. That is not allowed.)
READ: Comelec logs over 230,000 voters on last day of poll registration
He said the party raised this issue to the Comelec to have a “level playing field.”
“Ang problema natin kung halimbawa, napunta ka na sa Taguig at nagrehistro ka na doon, tapos magre-rehistro ka ulit dito sa Makati. ‘Yun ang mahirap dun. Ang lumalabas, parang flying voters ito. Nagkakarga to favor one candidate,” he said.
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(The problem arises when, for example, you’ve moved to Taguig and registered there, but then you register again here in Makati. That’s the tricky part. It appears to be a case of flying voters, which seems to benefit one candidate.)
