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CEBU CITY, Philippines – A total of 43 residents of Palompon town in Leyte province have expressed “grave concern” on the “numerous election violations” which they claimed were committed by Comelec in-charge Elvisia Tiu and her office personnel.
The most glaring of which was the non-removal of the names of 1, 021 deceased individuals from the voters list.
“Most of these individuals have been deceases for a significant period, yet their names remain on the voter roll,” they said.
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In addition, they alleged that Tiu also allowed the registration of at least 868 non-Palompon town residents.
“Allowing such registrations compromises the fairness of elections and erodes public trust in the electoral process.”
Electoral process
Last February 17, the group sent a letter to Atty. Ma. Corazon Montallana, the acting assistant regional director of the Comelec office in Eastern Visayas, to formally bring their concerns to her attention.
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“We believe that the following actions warrant immediate attention and action due to their significant implications for the integrity of our electoral process,” read part of their letter.
In their letter, they urged Montallana to immediately implement “corrective action” that would include the cancellation of the names of the deceased voters from the voters list and the transfer of Tiu and her staff so that a “thorough investigation can be conducted free from potential biases or conflicts of interests.”
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“It is crucial that these matters be addressed promptly to restore public confidence in our electoral process. We firmly believe that unless corrective measures are taken against these unlawful practices, the integrity of our election in Palompon will remain at risk, preventing constituents from achieving a true, fair and honest election.”
Voters List
In their letter, the alleged said that the names of 1, 021 deceased individuals continue to appear on the list of voters from 43 of Palompon’s 50 barangays. The most number, totaling to 80, are found in Brgy. Tabunok.
“This oversight is highly suspicious and raises concerns, especially since most of these individuals have long been dead. These deceased persons should have been deactivated for failing to vote in the last two consecutive regular elections, but how come that these [over a] thousand individuals seems to be active voters and whose names are still present in the list of registered voters.”
Among the names that appear on the voters list is that of the late Mayor Marcelo Chu Oñate, the brother of dismissed Palompon Mayor Ramon Oñate, who passed away in 2021.
Oñate, for his part, said that Marcelo died in Ormoc City, “that’s why his name is still there [on the voters list].”
“That’s not a problem: the problem is if they have voted, have they voted?,” he said.
In addition, Oñate said that the Local Civil Registry reports to the municipal election officer monthly or quarterly to update the voters’ list.
Cancellation
Last March 3, 2025, the complainants also filed a formal requests for the cancellation of the names of the 1,021 dead voters from the voters list with Comelec 8 that is based in Tacloban City.
They attached the affidavits of community members and/or certifications from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as proof that these individuals are already deceased.
But to date, Comelec 8 is yet to issue a response on the said request.
On February 3, ten election cases were also filed before the Municipal Trial Court of Palompon for the exclusion of dead voters from the voters’ list. However, this was dismissed by Judge Delia Noel-Bertulfo due to technical reasons, particularly their compliance of the submission deadline.
Motions for reconsideration were filed immediately but were soon after denied.
Registration on non-residents
Aside from their concern on deceased individuals’ names appearing on the voters list, petitioners alleged that Tiu and her office personnel also allowed the registration of at least 868 non-Palompon residents.
The most number of non-resident voters or 142 of them are listed under Brgy. Poblacion Central 2.
Petitioners alleged that these individuals did not even visit the Comelec office to register and were just given registration forms.
Meanwhile, the petitioners identified 11 double registrants “further compromising the integrity of the electoral rolls.”
They said that there are also at least 15 disinfranchised voters who will be deprived of their right to participate in the elections.
Moreover, they named two municipal hall employees whom Oñate reassigned to the Comelec office to work as office clerk and IT personnel.
“The presence of these individuals in roles that could impact the upcoming elections poses a significant risk to the fairness of the electoral process and could lead to a loss of public confidence in the electoral system.”