MTC denies MR request vs alleged Mandaue flying voters

CDN file photo

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu –The Municipal Trial Court has denied the Motion for Reconsideration filed by Ernie Manatad, upholding its previous ruling concerning the 275 alleged Mandaue flying voters.

Atty. Carly Guillermo, Manatad’s legal counsel, confirmed that the decision was issued on March 20, 2025.

“Ang reasoning sa MTC, they presumed that  since there are six respondents who appeared most probably, most probably the other hundred are legitimate voters in the area, mao to ila focus,” said Guillermo in an interview with the media on Tuesday, April 1.

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On January 31, Manatad filed 28 petitions seeking the exclusion of the 275 transferee voters from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) list, claiming that they did not reside in Mandaue and were therefore ineligible to vote.

His claims were based on an investigation in which personnel were assigned to verify the newly transferred voters.

The petitions raised concerns about the potential impact of these voters on the upcoming elections.

However, on February 12, the court ruled against the motion, citing that some of the respondents had attended the hearing and casting doubt on the assertion that the residences of the new voters could not be located.

Comelec-Mandaue Atty. Annafleur Gujilde stated that these transferee voters remain eligible to vote in the upcoming elections unless further legal action is taken.

“Magpaabot ra man gud mi sa order, if there is a court order for exclusion that is when atoa silang imanually cross out pero as long as walay order to exclude then that means nga included pa sila sa ato’ng voter’s list,” said Gujilde.

According to Guillermo, the case has not yet been elevated to the Regional Trial Court, and a decision on the next course of action has yet to be made.