LP: Voters’ list in Zambo Norte town padded

ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, Philippines – Roberto Uy, the gubernatorial bet of the Liberal Party  (LP) here, has asked President Benigno Aquino III to help speed up the resolution of his complaint about the “apparent” huge number of flying voters in Sibuco town.

The President was in Dipolog City on Thursday, April 18, for the groundbreaking of a road project and to proclaim local LP candidates during a rally.

During the proclamation rally at the Dipolog City Sports Complex, Uy said they had filed a case before the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), hoping they can get “legal relief” before the elections next month.

“The population of Sibuco is more than 31,000 and its voters are more than 30,000, which means that there are only about 1,000 residents in that town who are below 18 years old,” Uy stressed.

Ayub Pia, LP mayoral candidate in Sibuco, added: “The number of registered voters that is just slightly below the population is highly improbable. It indicates huge and massive number of flying voters.”

Sibuco is in the third district of the province, where the incumbent congressman is Cesar Jalosjos, who is running for governor against Uy.

Outdated numbers

Rappler in Manila verified the numbers provided by Uy’s camp, and found that he was comparing statistics from different years, thus the seemingly improbable ratio of registered voters to population.

Uy is citing the total population of Sibuco according to the 2010 census (or 31,982) but juxtaposing it with the voters’ population for 2013 (or 30,985). If the population in 2010 is juxtaposed with the voters’ population of the same year (25,065), then the difference would have been realistic.

Pia said they had asked Sibuco Election Officer Omar Hamja for the “book of voters for 2007 and 2010” so they can compare it with the present list. “But so far, all that Hamja has given us is the list of dead persons.”

Although not directly accusing the Jalosjos-Yebes group of the Nationalista Party (NP) and the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of being behind the alleged irregularity, Uy said their “only concern is the anomalous and tricky tactics our [political] opponents are known of.”

Incumbent Sibuco Mayor Nerbidiri Edding is allied with the Jalosjos-Yebes group. Sibuco is part of “triple SB (Sibuco, Sirawai, Siocon, and Baliguian towns),” which is known to be the favorite refuge of bandits, including splinter group of Abbu Sayyaf that is now being pursued by Moro National Liberation Front  (MNLF) fighters.

After endorsing local LP candidates here, President Aquino proceeded to Dumaguete City. – Rappler.com