MANILA, Philippines — Residents of the 10 barangays who were recently designated as Taguig voters by a Supreme Court (SC) ruling will be able to participate the 2025 midterm elections, but they will not be able to vote for their congressman, the Commission on Elections said on Tuesday.
The affected voters hail from barangays Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, Pitogo, Rizal, Northside and Southside.
This is because the poll body is not legally allowed to designate on its own which district the new Taguig voters are officially a part of, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said.
“Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, hindi po alam ng Comelec kung saang distrito kayo sa dalawang distrito ng Taguig kabilang. Hindi namin kayo pwedeng isama sa First District. Hindi namin kayo pwedeng isama sa Second District," Garcia said.
(Up to now, the Comelec does not know which of the two districts in Taguig you belong to. We cannot include you in the First District. We cannot include you in the Second District.)
He added: "Bakit po? Walang kapangyarihan ang Comelec na gawin 'yon, sapagkat ang may kapangyarihan na magsabi kung anong mga barangay ang kasama sa bawat distrito ay nasa Kongreso."
(Why? Because the Comelec does not have the authority to do that, since the power to determine which barangays are included in each district lies with Congress.)
Garcia said the voters will still be allowed to vote for national, mayoralty, vice mayoralty and city council positions.
However, if a new law is passed that will abolish Makati's second district and establish a third district in Taguig, Comelec can immediately prepare a new ballot to accommodate the change, Garcia added.
The SC ruled in April 2023 that Taguig has jurisdiction over the 729-hectare Bonifacio Global City and 10 barangays in Makati’s second district. — Cristina Chi