Petition seeking to exclude ‘flying voters’ in Mandaue filed

Local

A PETITION has been filed before the Municipal Trial Court in Mandaue City seeking to exclude over 600 transferee voters from the city’s official voters’ list.

Citing alleged fraudulent registrations, former Subangdaku Barangay Captain Ernie Manatad, a candidate for city councilor under Team Mandaue, lodged the petition on Friday, January 31, 2025, arguing that these voters do not reside in Mandaue and may have been strategically registered to influence election results.

Manatad, through his legal counsel, Atty. Carly Guillermo, also plans to pursue election offense charges against these individuals and barangay officials who may have facilitated the registrations.

According to Manatad, his team initiated an investigation after noticing an unusually high number of unfamiliar names on the List of Newly-Transferred Registrants in Mandaue City.

His team deployed verifiers to different barangays from Dec. 27, 2024, to Jan. 20, 2025, but found that many of these newly registered voters could not be located at their declared addresses.

One of the cases highlighted in the petition involves a transferee voter registered in Barangay Pagsabungan. Despite multiple attempts to locate the individual, the legal team failed to verify their residence.

The petition asserts that this voter, and many others, have not met the residency requirements as mandated by the Philippine Constitution and election laws.

Guillermo further claimed that certain barangay officials may have issued questionable certificates of residency to facilitate these registrations.

Under election laws and Supreme Court rulings, voter registration requires not only physical presence but also proof of domicile. The absence of these voters from their registered addresses raises legal concerns about potential electoral fraud.

Manatad emphasized that the alleged “flying voters” could sway election results, especially in hotly contested barangays.

He pointed out that many of these transferee voters appear to have registered in barangays allied with Mandaue Lone District Representative Emmarie “Lolypop” Ouano-Dizon.

“Ang among gituhuan, epekto ni siya sa katung mga ayuda nga gipang-offer nila sa employment sector, katung security guards, tindera sa department stores. One of the requirements is [registered] even if they are not residing in Mandaue,” Manatad said.

“I represent sa Team Mandaue… Usa man sad gud ni sa dili maayo nga scheme sa uban’g partido, ilaha’ng gamiton para sa eleksyon… Kung pananglitan dili sila ma-exclude, ang ilaha’ng boto mavalid gyud na… Fair and honest election ang atoang tuyo,” he added.

Under Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 10963, applicants must present a valid ID with a photo and signature, such as a National ID, driver’s license, passport, or government-issued ID. A barangay clearance with a photo is also accepted.

However, Manatad’s camp believes that fraudulent registrations were facilitated using barangay-issued certificates of residency, which should not be required for voter registration if an applicant has a valid ID.

Mandaue City currently has over 236,000 registered voters for the 2025 national and local elections.

Congresswoman Ouano-Dizon dismissed Manatad’s allegations as baseless political attacks.

“Pasangil napod? Wala na gyod sila tarung mahuna-hunaan? Sayon ra ang pag-akusar. Laway ray puhunan. Mas permanente nila ang pag-akusar kaysa pagbuhat og mga kaayohan para sa Mandaue. Kahibaw namo unsay panultihon about idle hands and idle minds, ‘they’re the devil’s workshop,’” Ouano-Dizon said.

“Basta kami, nasayod mo nga focus ra gyud mi sa paghatod sa mga programa, proyekto, ug uban pang makaayo sa mga Mandauehanon. Mas daghan among trabaho kaysa kyawkyaw, because that is what Mandaue needs, and that is what Mandaue deserves,” she added.

Manatad’s team is urging election authorities to closely monitor voter registration procedures to prevent potential fraud.

“This is not just about one candidate or one party. This is about protecting the sanctity of our elections. We need an honest and fair election,” Manatad said.(MyTVCebu)