Comelec task force to probe ‘unusual’ registered voter hikes in some cities

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has formed a task force to look into the supposed "unusual" increase in the number of registered voters in some localities.

This was divulged during the continuation of the Senate plenary deliberations on the proposed 2025 national budget after Senator Nancy Binay and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada raised their concerns on the increase of registered voters in Makati City and San Juan City, respectively.

During the deliberations on Comelec's proposed budget, Binay questioned the increase by 56,586—consisting of 18,555 new registrants and 38,031 transferees—in the total number of registered voters in Makati for the 2025 national and local elections, even through the Supreme Court ruled that 10 EMBO barangays that used to be part of Makati are now part of Taguig City.

"'Yung numero ba na ito ay posible na nabawasan ng 10 barangay ang Makati pero nadagdagan ng 38,031 transferees?" Binay asked.

(How is it possible that Makati lost 10 barangays but added 38,031 transferees?)

Senator Imee Marcos, who speaks on behalf of Comelec as their budget sponsor, said that the poll body agrees that it is "very unusual."

However, Marcos said, Comelec is not allowed to remove these transferred voters from the list by itself, and that there should be a court order to do so.

"Sa ngayon ang pagka-alam natin may nag-file na ng exclusion ng new registrants at transferees at naka-pending na sa municipal trial court. Sa bahagi naman ng Comelec, nagbuo ng task force for the alleged increase in registrants in both Districts 1 and 2 of Makati at ‘yung task force ang isinasaad [ay] to review the inclusion of barangay certification," Marcos said.

(So now what we know is someone has filed for the exclusion of new registrants and transferees and it's pending at the municipal trial court. On the Comelec's part, it has formed a task force [to probe] the alleged increase in registrants in both Districts 1 and 2 of Makati and it will review the inclusion of barangay certification.)

"Kasi nga parang nagdududa sila lahat sila may hawak na barangay certification bigla. At baka hindi na ito tatanggapin sa susunod [Because they are doubting that all these are suddenly already holding barangay certifications. And these won't be accepted in the future]. It may no longer be considered proof of identity and it may be excluded in the future conduct of voter registration," she added.

Jinggoy on San Juan

Estrada raised the same concern, saying that from 71,225 registered voters in San Juan, it increased to 82,997 (or a 16.50% jump) in 2018, and the total hiked again to 109,640, rising by 32.2%, in 2022.

This, Estrada said, is higher compared to the increases in its neighboring cities like Pasig City at 3.75%, Mandaluyong at 1.32%, Quezon City at 5.55%, and Manila City at 6.37%.

Estrada also said there was a similar rise in the number of registered voters in the 2018 and the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

"I think, for me this is  highly irregular. The increase of registered voters in San Juan in NLE 2022 and BSKE 2023 is highly irregular compared to other LGUs and the national registered voters," he said.

Marcos reiterated that there should be a petition for exclusion in order for the new voters to be excluded.

"As in the Makati case, the Comelec decries the fact that despite the very apparent ballooning of the number of voters way past the average, the problem was that no one filed a petition for exclusion of these newly registered or transferred voters," she said.

"As a result, the Comelec could not on its own remove them from the list. That's the problem because there is in fact the case Quintos vs. Comelec wherein barangay certifications continued to be upheld as primary evidence of residency and of identity," she added.

Apart from the filing of the petition, Marcos said that the Comelec is asking Congress to pass a law banning the use of barangay certification as proof of residence.

She mentioned that this does not only occur in Makati City and San Juan City, but in other places including Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija, Cagayan de Oro, and Tawi-Tawi.

Further, the Comelec is urging the Department of the Interior and Local Government to file cases against barangay chairpersons who are involved in the irregular issuance of barangay certifications. — BM, GMA Integrated News