People from various villages wait for their turn to defend their registration as voters of Cabanatuan City. Photo by Armand Galang
CABANATUAN CITY – Village officials have expressed apprehension of mass disenfranchisement in the upcoming May 2022 elections as many of their constituents failed to answer opposition against newly registered voters and transferees owing to the “next day hearing” subpoena of the city election office.
Barangay chair Jackie Castillo of Magsaysay Sur here said nearly all of about 60 newly registered voters in her village failed to show up at the hearing site at NE Pacific Mall Cinema area on Tuesday for several reasons, including being quarantined for Covid-19, at work, schooling from home, or engaged in church activities.
Her office received the subpoena for those individuals only on Monday afternoon, she said.
A Comelec employee told Castillo to provide certification from the health department that her constituents who failed to show up were indeed in quarantine for Covid-19.
“Nakukuha lang ang certification kapag tapos na ang quarantine mo ng 14 days,” Castillo said adding it was not a practice to divulge to a third party the names of virus-infected or affected people.
“Mawawalan po talaga ng karapatan (to vote) dahil yun po ang sabi ng Comelec, tatanggalin,” said Castillo after discussing things with local election officials, who she said, would not talk to them straight. “Ayaw nilang makipag-usap ng maayos e, I don’t know why.”
Castillo vouched that the people summoned by the Comelec are residents of their village.
A former barangay official of Barangay Aduas Sur here said at least 75 of his village mates were also summoned to show up and prove they were not flying voters.
A female official of Barangay Bagong Sikat also lamented that about 100 newly registered in their village were summoned but most of them could not show up due to a “very short notice.”
“Natatakot rin yung mga tao dahil subpoena ang ipinadala na parang may kaso sila. Sana man lang invitation,” she said.
This city has 89 villages. It was not clear though how many villages had been summoned.
City election officer Allan Aseron said through a police security in the area that he cannot yet talk to the media due to a lot of work Tuesday.
Subpoenaed voters were “ordered” to appear before the Election Registration Board and to “submit subscribed counter-affidavit and the affidavit of your witnesses and other supporting documents, if any, to answer the charge against you that you are not a resident of Cabanatuan City and/or you misrepresented yourself to be living in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.”
The call was prompted by the opposition filed by a certain Regalado Gonzales, the summon signed by Aseron showed.
Student Dante Miguel, 21, of Magsaysay Norte, said he had to excuse himself from his class reporting to yield to Comelec if only to assert his right to vote. “It was a real hassle,” he said.
Association of Barangay Councils and Pagas chair Christopher Lee lamented that their certifications were not even honored during registration and the Comelec summoned their constituents hastily.
