Former Subangdaku Barangay Captain Ernie Manatad. /Photo: Ernie Manatad FB Page
CEBU CITY, Philippines- The Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) has dismissed all 28 petitions filed to nullify the registration of 275 new voters in Mandaue City.
Mandaue City MTCC Branch 2 Judge Francis Ian Birondo ruled that the presence of the respondents during the hearing cast doubt on the claim of former Subangdaku barangay captain Ernie Manatad that the residences of the new voters could not be found.
“Mirisi! Pataka lang og pamasangil. Apilon man mis ilang paranoia,” said one of the respondents. (Serves them right! They are making baseless accusations. They even included us in their paranoia.)
Manatad, a candidate for city councilor under Team Mandaue, had filed 28 separate petitions to exclude 275 new voters from the Comelec list.
He claimed that their team sent out “verifiers” to locate the residences of the respondents listed as voters in Mandaue, even seeking assistance from purok leaders.
He alleged that the transferee voters were “fictitious and flying voters… through clever machinations such as deliberate concealment of their actual residence, misdeclaration, and misrepresentation.”
However, the court was not convinced.
There are around 5,000 new voters in Mandaue, and Manatad’s petition targeted 275 individuals across five barangays.
During the hearing, lawyer Anna Fluer Gujilde of Comelec Mandaue stated that valid IDs were required during registration. Respondents who attended the hearing also provided details about their length of stay in their barangays, their previous residences, and reasons for transferring their voter registration to Mandaue.
In his ruling, Judge Birondo cited the qualifications for voters as outlined in the Constitution: “All citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least 18 years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year, and in the place wherein they propose to vote for at least six months immediately preceding the election.”
For emphasis, he highlighted the phrase “at least six months immediately preceding the election.”
The judge also noted Manatad’s assertion that his petition was posted on the bulletin boards of Mandaue City Hall, the concerned barangays, and barangay gyms.
However, he pointed out that the same method was used by the court to serve notices for the hearing, yet the respondents still managed to attend.
“This would then discredit the petitioner’s claims that these private respondents were unknown in their respective barangays and that diligent efforts were exerted to ascertain their identities and residences,” read the decision.
The ruling further stated, “Clearly, the petitioner failed to convince the court that private respondents should be excluded as voters of their respective barangays in Mandaue.”
The MTC judge then ordered Comelec Mandaue to maintain the Voters Registration Records of the respondents in its active files.
Following the court’s decision, Manatad announced his intention to file an appeal. He maintained that only six of the 275 voters attended the hearing on Monday, February 10, and argued that Judge Birondo merely presumed that the other respondents were unable to inform the court of their absence.
“On the contrary, our view is that the absence or non-appearance of the respondents is prima facie evidence that they are not actually residents or are non-existent in their barangays,” said Manatad.
He reiterated his concern that these voters might influence the outcome of the upcoming elections, particularly in closely contested areas.