PPCRV: 40K double registrants in Davao just ‘tip of the iceberg’

The more than 40,000 “double registrants" in Davao City and Davao del Sur may just be the “tip of the iceberg" in what could be an attempt to manipulate the results of the May 10 automated elections, a poll watchdog said on Monday. “Itong ating nahanap sa Davao City at sa Davao del Sur (What we found in Davao City and Davao del Sur) is just the tip of the iceberg. We would like to see and find out as the reports would come in from our volunteers," said Howard Calleja of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). Calleja earlier revealed that there were more than 40,000 “double, multiple, or dead registrants" on the voters’ lists of Davao del Sur and Davao City for the coming elections. Of these, 940 dead people were still entered as active voters. He said that if the figure is multiplied by 80 provinces, the result could range from three to four million voters, which he said could be the deciding factor for some local and national elective positions. “Ang simula ng pangloloko ay magsisismula sa voter's list. Kung hindi maayos ang ating voter's list, paano tayo magkakaroon ng clean and honest elections (Cheating begins in the voter's list. If the voter's list is not fixed, how can we have a clean and honest elections?)," he said.
Among the interesting names that the PPCRV had found to be listed twice was that of Apollo Quiboloy, the influential religious leader of the Kingdom of Jesus sect, and Sebastian Duterte, son of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, on the other hand, said that Calleja might have seen the list of registered voters that has not been cleansed yet by the poll body. “As of now, the list is already cleansed," said Larrazabal in a press briefing, adding that only 310 double registrants were found when the list was cleansed. As for Quiboloy's case, Larrazabal said their regional director found that the pastor was not actually a double registrant. He said that there might have just been a "mix-up" because the religious leader registered in one district and had his registration validated in another after he was de-activated for failing to vote twice. “We're tracing now who were the officials were [then] ... we can summon them," he said. He likewise said that this might be the same situation for the other supposed double registrants that the PPCRV found. “It's a possibility," he said. Calleja, however, said that their findings came from the updated list of voters as provided by the Comelec. He said the PPCRV, as the only accredited citizen’s arm of the poll body, is entitled to several election records. He said their intention in releasing their findings was to help the Comelec cleanse the voters’ list before the book of voters closes on March 26. “I think it is up to us, PPCRV, and the Comelec to see to it that the official list of voters is the clean and the true list," he said. Larrazabal said that they would look into the matter. - KBK, GMANews.TV