Senator Nancy Binay is demanding full accountability from barangay officials who are allegedly “abusing” the issuance of barangay residence certificates, which are required for voter transfer or registration.
A previous Supreme Court ruling allowed the practice of accepting barangay residence certifications in the absence of a valid government ID. But, recent reports to the Commission on Elections have raised concerns over the validity of these certificates. Some addresses provided by voter transferees and registrants in Makati were found to be either non-existent, uninhabited, or unfit for living.
Binay called these findings “suspicious” and said they should be flagged for investigation.
These said “registrants” failed to meet residency requirements as they were not actual residents of the district, according to her.
She also cited reports that some barangay chairmen would issue residence certificates without verifying whether the individuals are legitimate residents of the barangay.
During a recent Senate budget deliberations, the Comelec confirmed the highly irregular surge of voter transferees in Makati’s two congressional districts, attributing it to 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.
Binay raised questions about the data, asking, “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?”
There has been an “unusual”‘ increase of 55% in voter transfers in the second district of Makati and 15% in the first district, far above the typical 5% “normal rise” in voting populations.
“Sang-ayon ang Comelec na very unusual kasi nga nabawasan ng sampung barangay, ngunit 57,000 halos ang nadagdag na botante,” confirmed Marcos.
Binay warned that criminal cases could be filed against barangay officials if they are ound to be involved in the anomalous voter registrations, or if they facilitated, conspired in, or knowingly participated in any violation of election laws.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the en banc will study the recommendation of the Election Registration Board and the task force formed to investigate the surge in voter transfers.
The task force will also look into holding accountable any barangay officials responsible for the issue.IMT
