DILG to investigate bogus issuance of barangay certifications

LAST DAY OF VOTERS’ REGISTRATION Residents of Quezon City troop to the SM North EDSA, North Towers on January 31, 2023 on the last day of voters’ registration for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections. (File photo from INQUIRER / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday said it will investigate concerns on barangay certifications that lead to irregular voter transfers.

“I will ask my USEC for Barangay Affairs to investigate,” DILG chief Jonvic Remulla told INQUIRER.net in a Viber message.

Remulla is reacting to the call of Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia for DILG to act on abuses pertaining to the use of barangay certification as proof of residence during elections.

Currently, one requirement the public can present as an identification document to become a registered voter in a locality is a barangay identification or certification with a photograph.

Garcia claimed this can lead to “mass migration” of voters from one place to another.

Reports of irregular voter registrations were reported in Makati but the poll chairperson said similar irregularities were observed in the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Cagayan de Oro and Batangas.

Remulla noted that “there is a mechanism for petition for exclusion of ‘fake resident voters.”

”Aggravated candidates can use this avenue to cleanse the voters’ list,” he said.

Garcia also noted there were previous instances when the Comelec declared as illegal the list of voters in certain areas due to irregular transfers.