Flying voters also seen in areas other than Pasay —Comelec

Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez on Thursday said there are flying voters or individuals who register and cast votes in areas they do not live in, not just in Pasay City.

"Hindi lang sa Pasay nagaganap ito, at katunayan, pangkaraniwan nating nakikita na talagang may pumupuslit ng ganitong klaseng modus," Jimenez explained in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

He said this was why their verification process allowed the public to give their input on who may or may not vote in their area, thus the petition of exclusion filed by election lawyer Atty. Romulo Macalintal.

On Wednesday, Macalintal filed on behalf of prospective candidate Yok Tin "Baby" So a complaint over 1,400 suspected flying voters in Pasay City.

"Gumugulong po ngayon 'yan," Jimenez said. "Nagbibigay po tayo ng list of voters na naaprubahan doon sa mga election watchdogs na katulong natin.

"Sila 'yung, kumbaga, tumitingin, bumubusisi sa mga listahan, para may mga makita silang ganyang pattern," he added.

Macalintal said 275 of the registered voters listed an address that turned out to be a station of the Light Rail Transit, while 277 used an address that is occupied by a cellular phone company.

Some 330 people used an address where the house "is too small to occupy them" while 257 others used an apartment "too impossible to occupy them."

"Papano nangyayari na ito ang mga sinasabing list of voters? Kaya ito ang dahilan kung bakit nagsampa ng demanda," Macalintal said in another interview on Dobol B sa News TV on Thursday.

He explained that flying voters gathered through a "hakot system" are given a list of addresses for their registration in the barangay they are brought to.

Macalintal questioned the strength of the Election Registration Board's (ERB) screening process for such incidents to pass through.

"Paano mangyayari na 'di nila malalaman? 'Di dapat sana na makita niya na pare-pareho ang address ng tao, e nagkaroon na ng red flag kaagad," he said. "Hindi na dapat mag-reklamo, moto propio dapat."

A total cleansing of the registry before the next elections would be tricky, but Macalintal said electoral inspectors can ask for identification from persons with the same address.

Jimenez explained that these voters registered over the course of several days, an action which can hamper their process of verification.

"Kung minsan, nakikita mo, naalala mo na itong address, nagsa-stand out, naalala mo nu'ng isang araw, pero hindi natin masasabing ganun kadali na the same kadali nang pinalalabas ni Atty. Mac," he said.

Jimenez added that Comelec continuously verifies the list of voters on its own volition and acts on requests brought before it.

"Hindi nagagawa nang 100 percent na makikita ng Comelec 'yan. Pero meron kaming natatanggal, on our own, kahit walang reklamo. It's just that, siyempre, shared responsibility ito," he said. —Rie Takumi/KG, GMA News