Sunday, March 12, 2006
Comelec unearths 12T 'illegal voters' in autonomous region
MANILA -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has discovered 12,000 individuals in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) who have registered themselves to be able to vote, not just twice, but even more in separate places.
"If they think we're just joking about our drive (against double and multiple registrants), they're mistaken. I'll have them all arrested as soon as the cases are filed," said Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos.
The Armm is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan as well as the chartered city of Marawi.
Abalos has ordered the Comelec law department to investigate and prosecute the illegal voters in the province.
Comelec law department head Alioden Dalaig said Maguindanao has the largest number of multiple registrants at 3,000.
The National Movement for Free Elections said there are at least 100,000 double or multiple registrants in the region.
Abalos said they have been carefully validating double and multiple registrations by comparing biometrics from the agency's data-capturing machines with those gathered by other government agencies such as the Social Security System.
(March 12, 2006 issue)
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