Palompon, Leyte Mayoral candidate Georgina Arevalo. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
ORMOC, LEYTE – In Palompon city, Leyte province, greater than a thousand names of deceased people reportedly stay on the Fee on Elections (COMELEC) voters’ listing, whereas a number of residing voters have discovered their names lacking.
Mayoral candidate Georgina Arevalo raised the priority, saying that COMELEC election officer Elvisa Tiu has but to offer a transparent rationalization for the discrepancy.
Arevalo expressed hope that the difficulty shall be resolved promptly, with only a month to go earlier than the midterm elections.
“That is very irritating as a result of we’ve got been asking COMELEC to take away the names of lifeless voters,” she mentioned in an interview on Friday, April 10.
She warned that the failure to scrub up the voters’ listing may have an effect on the outcomes of the elections of their city, which has round 46,000 registered voters. Within the earlier elections, the place incumbent Mayor Ramon Oñate received, the margin of victory was solely 4,000 votes, Arevalo famous.
To this point, Arevalo mentioned they’ve recognized 1,089 deceased voters whose names nonetheless seem on the listing—a few of whom died as early as 2012. Of those, 674 have already been verified with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), but the names stay.
Regardless of the documentation, Arevalo mentioned Tiu continues to delay motion on their requests.
Along with the difficulty of lifeless voters, Arevalo reported that round 100 of her supporters may not discover their names on the listing.
Arevalo additionally mentioned Tiu has not given us a transparent rationalization.
Complaints Filed
On Friday, at the very least 15 people visited the COMELEC workplace in Palompon to both request the removing of their deceased family members from the voters’ listing or to complain in regards to the removing of their very own names regardless of being eligible voters. They added to the variety of earlier complainants.
COMELEC Officer Tiu couldn’t be reached for remark as she was attending an occasion exterior the workplace that day.
As a rule, voters are faraway from the listing in the event that they fail to vote in two consecutive elections. COMELEC can be mandated to often replace the voters’ listing by eradicating deceased people or those that have transferred to a different locality.
Affidavits Submitted
Rosemarie Tuico of Barangay Lomonon visited the COMELEC workplace bringing an affidavit to certify that her father died in February 2025 and may subsequently be faraway from the voters’ listing.
“Kay naa pa man siya sa voters’ listing, bisag patay na. Ang ako lang, ipapapas siya,” Tuico mentioned. (As a result of he’s nonetheless on the voters’ listing although he’s already lifeless. I simply need his title eliminated.)
One other complainant, Evalyn Catalago, mentioned her mom, Esperanza, died 5 years in the past, however her title nonetheless seems on the listing.
Lacking Voter Names
Different people visited COMELEC to make clear why their names had been not on the voters’ listing although that they had voted within the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
“Ako silang gi-clear diri kung tinuod ba nga wala ko sa grasp listing, niingon man nga wala so niadto ko sa essential COMELEC sa Intramuros. Two instances ko nangayo ug certification unya giingnan ko sa COMELEC nga klaroha didto,” Merlyn Peñano mentioned, a resident of Barangay Cantandoy in Palompon. (I requested them right here to confirm if it’s true that I’m not on the grasp listing, they usually mentioned I wasn’t, so I went to the primary COMELEC workplace in Intramuros. I requested for a certification twice, and COMELEC informed me to make clear it right here.)
Arevalo questioned how the names of lifeless voters stay whereas lively voters are being delisted.
“The rule of thumb is in the event you haven’t voted in two consecutive elections, you’re eliminated. So how come these names are nonetheless there?” she requested.
She additionally expressed frustration that Tiu wouldn’t acknowledge PSA information and insisted on paperwork from the Native Civil Registrar as an alternative.
COMELEC requires members of the family to submit an affidavit confirming the dying, a dying certificates, and a legitimate ID of the requesting celebration.
Catalago mentioned she had submitted all of the required paperwork and was informed that her request can be addressed in the course of the Election Registration Board (ERB) listening to on Monday, April 14, when the voters’ listing shall be finalized and guide deletions shall be made.
The ERB listening to shall be attended by the Election Officer, the Municipal Treasurer, and the Colleges District Supervisor.
Attainable Flying Voters
Arevalo additionally expressed concern over the doable presence of “flying voters” in Palompon. She mentioned she obtained a replica of the 2022 Common Voters’ Checklist the place a number of signatures appeared for a similar particular person.
Some residents additionally claimed that the signature beside their title on the listing was not theirs.
“It’s very irritating as a result of we’ve been asking COMELEC to take away these names. We at all times find yourself at a dead-end,” Arevalo lamented.
Authorized Help and Enchantment
Lawyer Robie Quiño, who’s working for councilor beneath Arevalo’s slate, assisted the complainants in submitting their affidavits.
“We efficiently submitted 15 affidavits. These names ought to be crossed out, and we’ll comply with up,” Quiño mentioned.
Arevalo additionally known as on COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia to look into the complaints in Palompon.
Regardless of the setbacks, Arevalo stays hopeful.
“I’m nonetheless praying that the elections in our city shall be peaceable,” she mentioned.
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