A petition has been filed questioning the alleged suspicious voter registration of approximately 600 persons in Mandaue City.

The petition seeks to have the questionable voters verified whether they are legitimate residents of Mandaue City, or that the registration was only sought because of the May 2025 elections. 

The petition for exclusion of voters, or the removal from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) list of the alleged suspicious voters, was filed at the Metropolitan Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) afternoon on January 31, 2025. 

The petition was filed by Ernie Manatad, former Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president, after his camp received reports on alleged suspicious number of registrants during the voter registration period in Mandaue City. 

According to Atty. Carly Guillermo, legal counsel of the petitioner, their personnel verified at the barangays the names on the list.

“Wa mi kaila ana or wa sila gapuyo o di gyud sila taga-diri, they personally know nga kaning mga tawhana wa ni gapuyo diri naa gyud address ana, ay taga-Liloan man na,” Guillermo said.

As for Manatad, he said that the action is also a move to support the COMELEC in its campaign on reporting any suspicious activities in the conduct of voter registration.

“Atong ipakuan ang proseso, unfair man pod nga magamit, macircumvent ang balaod pertaining ana. Ang COMELEC sad gyud, they encourage even parties running for the city, this May elections tabangan sila og verify og naa bay angayang ma-exclude,” Manatad said.

Based on data from COMELEC Mandaue City, there is a total of 236,668 registered voters for the National and Local Elections in May 2025.

COMELEC Mandaue also posted in a conspicuous area in their office a list of voters whose registration in the latest Election Registration Board (ERB) hearing was approved.

The latest hearing was conducted in October 2024, after the voter registration in September 2024 closed.

“Part sa atong responsibility, magbantay ta nga honest ang atong proseso sa eleksyon, especially sa registration of voters to prevent flying votes,” Manatad emphasized.