Raps filed against alleged Binondo flying voters

Charges have been filed against several alleged flying voters in Binondo, Manila.

According to Tina Panganiban-Perez's report on "24 Oras", Barangay 269 chairman Domingo Vacal said he had received information that the suspects were using a building in the area as their address when they registered as voters.

"Meron daw silang nahuli na nagre-recruit ng tao dito sa barangay namin. Pagkatapos base sa kanila babayaran uli sila ng P1,000 pag bumoto sila," Vacal said.

The barangay chair was adamant that the suspects were not residents of his ward.

"Hindi po talaga taga-roon kasi almost 50 years na ko nakatira doon sa building na 'yun eh," Vacal said.

The addresses the suspects claimed to be residing were a storage room and a house, both of which were padlocked shut.

"Hindi ho namin siya tenant, hindi naman po namin kasama dito," said resident Nely Chan when asked if she knew the individuals who used her house as an address.

The complaints were filed before the Manila City Prosecutor's Office. "Sa aking palagay mas mabilis dito sa DOJ. Sa Comelec medyo mahirap kasi ang dami ng kaso nila," said Attorney Romulo Macalintal.

Macalintal added that the local voters' list needed to be purged as this could affect the results of an election.

"Dito sa Manila na lamang, 890 barangays lang, maka-flying voters ka lang ng average na sampung botante bawat barangay, that's 8,900 flying voters already. Nung past election, ang difference lamang ni Erap at Lim ay nasa 2,000 lamang," Macalintal pointed out.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) also vowed to look into the incident.

"Aalamin natin kung lehitimo nga ba 'yung mga address na binigay. Kung hindi then we will take administrative steps to remove them from the list," said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.

Manila District 3 Election Officer Eric Santos, meanwhile, said their office has not yet received complaints over the alleged flying voters. — Anna Felicia Bajo/DVM, GMA News