Clean, honest polls
THE decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to file charges against 100,000 individuals with double or multiple voter registrations is good news.
Without doubt, it is a welcome development in the nationwide campaign to ensure the holding of clean, honest and credible national and local elections in the country.
The nation goes to the polls anew next year to elect 12 new senators, more than 300 members of the House of Representatives and thousands of local executives.
Under the Constitution, national and local elections are held every three years. This is in addition to the non-partisan barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.
Comelec Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said some 100,000 individuals found to have double or multiple voter registrations face election offense charges.
Laudiangco said the suspects were part of the close to half-a-million double or multiple voter registrants detected by the poll body last year.
“In 2023, we delisted some 500,000 double ent, 100,000 of them were deliberate (attempts).”
Registration of more than once for purposes of being a flying voter is considered an election offense, which is punishable with one to six years imprisonment.
In addition, he/she is banned from exercising his/heand multiple registrants,” he said, adding “by our assessmr right to vote and disqualified from holding any public office.
While we call on the Comelec to hit hard at poll law violators, we also urge the public to support the campaign to make our elections clean, honest, peaceful and credible.
