Court legalizes 377 'flying voters' in Pasay

MANILA, Philippines - Almost 400 alleged “flying voters” can vote in Pasay City’s Barangay 179 tomorrow – and it will be legal.

Due to a technicality, a metropolitan trial court (MTC) reversed the decision of a higher tribunal, which ruled that the voters- although registered – are not “bonafide residents” of Barangay 179, Zone 19.

In a three-page decision, Judge Bibiano Colasito of Pasay’s MTC Branch 45 ruled in favor of the voters as he said the complaint of a certain Ricardo Reyes was lodged a day after the deadline to file exclusion cases lapsed.

The Commission on Elections’ Resolution 9010 set the deadline on Aug. 31.

“Hence, as the petition was filed one day late on Sept. 1… the court has no jurisdiction to proceed further as the right of the petitioner to file this case has already prescribed,” Colasito’s ruling read.

Three persons are running for the top post in Barangay 179, which has 3,915 registered voters.

Judge Edwin Ramizo of Regional Trial Court Branch 114 granted Reyes’ petition earlier, saying the petitioner has been “residing for so many years in the said barangay and would have known that the respondents are residents thereat.”

Ramizo also gave credence to the corroboration of incumbent barangay captain Romeo Españo, who “confirm(ed) that the respondents are not bonafide residents” of the barangay.

In an interview with The STAR, lawyer Frances Aguindadao, head of Pasay’s District 2 Comelec office, said most of the respondents were registered as residents of only one address. Their addresses include schools, churches, and the house of the barangay captain.

“There was an instance that 200 people live in one address, how can that be?” Aguindadao said. “These are flying voters and the allegation was that they are ‘hakot’ and brought here by a candidate.”

She said originally there were 600 respondents in the case but Ramizo declared  only 377 as non-residents.

Aguindadao admitted that the registration is not flawless and “it’s the same with other cities” because election officers are limited to only checking the registration of names and age “but not the addresses.”

Asked if there’s still a way to prevent the “flying voters” from participating in the polls, participation, Aguindadao said, “If watchers oppose it, these voters will be asked to sign an oath to prove that they are residents of the barangay. Later, this can be utilized as evidence for perjury.”

“This will no longer be an election offense but a criminal case,” Aguindadao said, adding “so much had been spent just to exclude these voters.”