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Voters' list padded by 3 million, Namfrel claims


The official list of voters for the May 2010 elections might actually be padded by over three million, according to poll watchdog National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), citing census figures. "Namfrel estimates that the over-listing may run to an estimated three million names, assuming that the 2007 list was an accurate, cleaned-up list," said Namfrel chairman Jose Cuisia at a press briefing held Tuesday. The watchdog head said that the "significant difference" in increases between the number of registered voters and the Filipino population indicate a large number of multiple registrants. He said that based on the National Census and Statistics Board annual population growth of 1.95 percent, the increase in the growth in the number of registered voters from 2007 to 2010 should just be around six to eight percent. But Cuisia said they recorded an increase of 12.65 percent from the 45 million registered voters in 2007 to the 50 million voters for the May elections. He said that the region with the highest increase of 42 percent during the three years was the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), incidentally the center of the "Hello Garci" controversy in 2004. In 2004, a taped conversation between a woman, presumed to be then presidential candidate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and a man, presumed to be then Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, circulated. The two were discussing ways to rig the results of that year’s elections to favor administration candidates. The Namfrel chair said that every province in ARMM recorded an increase in the number of voters, with Maguindanao posing an 82 percent increase from 2007 to 2010. The region with the lowest increase in voters is Region VI in the Visayas, with a jump of 7.6 percent. Namfrel secretary-general Eric Alvia said that random inspections made by their group also showed that certified voters lists (CVL) around the country continue to contain errors. He cited 36 voters with identical names in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro; 10 names which have different spellings in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte; five deceased persons still appearing each in Sugpon and Sta. Lucia, Ilocos Sur; and the previously reported 187 voters who are at least 100 years old in Mandaluyong. Earlier, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting reported that there are also more than 40,000 double registrants in Davao City and Davao del Sur while militant watchdog Kontra Daya said that the voters' list for the May polls is padded by five million. What to do Namfrel membership committee chairman Damaso Magbual said that the Comelec should have asked for their help in cleaning the voters list. "If the Comelec valued our assistance to purge the voters' list, we could have done that a long time ago," he said. He said that in other Asian countries, the government provides copies of the CVL to civil society groups free of charge. Here in the Philippines, however, the poll body reportedly asks for P15 to P75 per precinct to be able to secure copies of the CVL. Cuisia advised the poll body to use "genuine" indelible ink to ensure that persons vote only once in May. He also asked the voters to check their names on the CVL so that they can confirm their status and at the same time get the exact location of their voting precincts beforehand. "They can do this by checking out the CVL at the municipal or city Comelec offices of for those who have access to the internet," he said. Earlier, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that the poll body will create a watchlist that would prevent suspected double or multiple registrants from voting more than once during the elections. He said the list would just help the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) determine whether a voter should be voting in another precinct. But later on, the commissioner said that they would be manually delisting 700,000 multiple registrants from the official list of voters. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said that the Comelec would also be creating a webpage called "Alma's Death List" where the public can report deaths, in the process helping them cleanse the list of voters. "Alma" is Spanish for soul. Last December, Namfrel, together with its co-petitioner the National Secretariat for Social Action Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, filed a petition with the Comelec asking for accreditation as a legitimate citizens’ arm of the poll body. The Comelec denied the petition. The PPCRV is the only accredited citizens' arm of the Comelec. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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