Surigao poll board grills ‘questionable’ voters

Roel N. Catoto

August 15, 2013
9:00 am

SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/15August)—The Election Registration Board (ERB) here has conducted a series of hearings involving “questionable” registrants for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections this October.

Lawyer Irish Novern Pasco, Commission on Elections (Comelec) supervisor here, said the ERB has summoned at least 313 persons from the different barangays whose registration for the upcoming elections has been questioned.

The ERB is composed of the Comelec, the Department of Education and the Civil Registrar’s Office.

Pasco said the questionable registrants involve 193 voters in Barangay Talisay, 20 in Danawan, eight in Alang-Alang, 12 in Sugbay, 8 in Cabongbogan, 14 in Aurora, 26 in Anomar, 23 in Lisondra and 15 in Orok.

He said the ERB hearings started last Tuesday and expected to be completed this Friday.

Pasco, who sits as ERB chairperson, said that concerned residents petitioned the registration of the voters, who will be given chances to explain their side before the board.[]

Most of the petitioned registrants are from the island-village of Talisay, Pasco said, adding they arrived in the island to work at a mining company.

“Most of them are securities and staff of the Shuley Mine in Nonoc Island who wanted to reside in this particular village,” he told MindaNews Wednesday.[]

Pasco said that to become a legitimate voter in one village, one has to reside there for at least 6 months.[]

He added they will release the exact number of registrants approved or denied for the upcoming elections here after the board finishes its hearing tomorrow, Friday. (Roel Catoto/MindaNews)

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