Over 755,000 deceased Filipinos removed from Eleksyon 2022 voters list

The names of more than 755,000 deceased Filipinos have been removed from the May 2022 elections voters list, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner George Garcia said on Thursday.

In a press conference, Garcia noted that 755,769 names on the registration records have been canceled due to death.

He then asked the relatives of those who passed away to present death certificates to the local Comelec so their records will get updated even without a certification from the civil registrar.

“Ang sabi ko nga po, ang problema ‘pag namatay, ‘pag namatay doon sa ibang lugar maliban doon sa kung saan talaga sila nakatira. Dapat kasi ang mag-i-issue ng certification ay ‘yung civil registrar kung saan nakatira ‘yung matanda o ‘yung namatay,” Garcia said.

(The problem is when they die somewhere other than where they actually live. The certification must be issued by the civil registrar where the elderly or the deceased lived.)

“Nakipag-usap kami sa atin pong Census and Statistics Office na nationally magsa-submit sila sa main office ng Comelec ng lahat ng namatay nationwide para kami naman po ang magbibigay ng mga pangalan na ‘yan sa aming local Comelec para maiwasan na sabihin na hindi matanggal dahil nga walang certification,” he added.

(We have already talked to our Census and Statistics Office for them to submit to the Comelec’s main office the list of deaths nationwide so we could inform our local Comelec and  have them remove the names even without certification.)

Garcia further explained that those who have died in another area outside their residence because of COVID-19 might still have their names retained in the voters list.

“Yung mga nagka-COVID tapos nadala sa ibang lugar, doon nagamot, tapos doon po namatay, posible talaga na maaaring hindi po sila natanggal kasi nga po maghihintay yung local Comelec, base sa batas, ng certification mula sa civil registrar kung saan namatay ‘yung nagka-COVID,” he said.

(It is possible that those who got COVID-9 and brought to another place and died there might still have their names on the list because based on the law, the local Comelec has to wait for a certification from the civil registrar where they died.)

“Pero, at the same time, kung yung mismong pamilya naman ang nagbigay ng certification mula sa civil registrar na namatay talaga yung kanilang kaanak, sure po na tatanggalin ‘yun ng local Comelec natin. Hindi na maghihintay ng certification mula sa civil registrar kasi nagbigay na ng death certificate ‘yung pamilya,” he added.

(At the same time, if the family itself issued the certification from the civil registrar that their relative actually died, our local Comelec will surely remove their names. They no longer have to wait for the certification from the civil registrar because the family has already issued a death certificate.)

Garcia added that the poll body has also deleted 1,490,678 registration records of those who transferred to another city or municipality, and 892,627 more who were found to have double registration.

The Comelec has also deactivated 7,229,493 individuals who failed to vote in two successive preceding elections as shown in their voting records.

There were 6,950,449 new registrants for the May 9 polls, the newly-appointed Commissioner said.

Moreover, there were 3,888,374 individuals who transferred from another district, city, or municipality, while 678,798 transferred within the same area. — BM, GMA News