Poll body chairman George Garcia speaks during a press conference at the Commission on Elections Central Office in Intramuros, Manila, on Friday, November 3, 2023. INQUIRER.net/Noy Morcoso
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it will disqualify and file charges against the alleged culprit—a Cagayan de Oro representative aspirant—of the irregular voter registrations of over 9,000 individuals.
Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia said the poll body en banc made this decision in their regular session held at Century Park Hotel in Pasay City.
Garcia said the still-unidentified aspirant, who is a former village chairman, issued barangay certification for these registrants.
Currently, one requirement the public can present as an identification document to become a registered voter in a locality is a barangay identification.
“The village chairman issued barangay certification massively, whether for new voters or transferees, only to find out that the same village chairman is running for a House of Representatives seat,” Garcia told INQUIRER.net in an ambush interview after the regular Comelec en banc.
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“Isn’t that a super conflict of interest? We will not allow that; we want to teach a lesson or two so aspirants won’t do that,” he further said.
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Garcia said the aspirant will face a criminal charge under the Omnibus Election Code while the poll body will also file a motu proprio or or “on their own initiative” a disqualification case against the House of Representative hopeful.
The Comelec has formed a task force to investigate suspicious transfers of voters from one place to another.
The formation of this task force was prompted by allegations of anomalous voter registrants in Makati City.
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