THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said poll offense charges are waiting to be filed against some 100,000 individuals found to have multiple voter registrations.
In a televised public briefing, Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said they are now preparing to file charges against around 100,000 individuals out of the nearly 500,000 multiple registrants they have detected last year.
“Last year, we delisted some 500,000 double and multiple registrants. By our assessment, 100,000 of them were deliberate,” said Laudiangco.
“Registration of more than once for purposes of being a flying voter is considered as an election offense,” he stressed.
Laudiangco said an election offense case is punishable by one to six years imprisonment, removal of the right to vote, and disqualification to hold public office.
He said the filing of charges should serve as a warning to others who are planning to have multiple voter registrations.
“”We are capable of detecting if you have another registration. If we see one, you may face election offense charges… We will surely capture these multiple registrants because all new applicants will be undergoing the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS),” said the poll official.
Meanwhile, Elections chairman George Garcia yesterday said some 175,000 applicants have applied to become voters, in just the second day of the voter registration period which resumed last February 12 and run until September 30, 2024.
“As of yesterday (Tuesday), some 175,000 have sought to be registered in just the second day of voter registration,” said Garcia.
There were some 90,000 applicants during the first day of the registration period.
“We will hold voter registration activities until September 30, so the numbers are really encouraging,” Garcia said.
The Comelec is projecting that about three million will apply to become registered voters during the seven-month voter registration period.
