Citing allegations of fraud, anomalies and irregularities, Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman sought a congressional inquiry on the recent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).
Hataman on Tuesday filed House Resolution 1497 asking for a legislative probe of alleged fraud, anomalies and other election irregularities that took place in Basilan and other parts of the country.
The resolution cited reports that officers of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and members of security forces were even involved in illegal activities during the BSKE held last October.
The resolution specifically cited Maluso town in Basilan where members of the electoral board attempted to transfer the polling place in Samal Village to another location without authority from the Comelec.
“If such an illegal and criminal act was not prevented, the voters would surely be displaced and would not be able to vote, thus resulting in a failure of election,” the resolution stated.
Another instance of irregularity allegedly took place in Barangay Bubuan in the town of Tabuan Lasa where the voting stopped before noon because the voters had fled the polling place due to the presence of armed men who surrounded the elementary school that used as a polling center.
In another town in Barangay Landugan, Lantawan town, several masked men with high-powered firearms allegedly entered the polling place, seized the ballot boxes and the ballots, then came back later with the ballots all filled out.
The resolution asserted that these allegations of election irregularities did not only happen in Basilan, but in other places in Mindanao as well.
“In another area in Mindanao, a video was taken where an army officer was seen appearing to be in the act of interfering with the tasks of the Electoral Board by calling them one by one and asking them to do certain acts that are already beyond such officer’s mandate or jurisdiction,” the resolution said.
Hataman charged that the prevalence of such instances of fraud, anomalies and election irregularities, “is very alarming” as it will cast doubt on the integrity of the election and endanger the lives of the electorate.
“With the nearing 2025 national and local elections, as well as the next 2025 barangay elections just around the corner, there is a need to investigate these allegations of electoral malpractices to prevent their recurrence by crafting new legislation, or amending and strengthening existing ones, as may be necessary,” Hataman’s measure read.
“The allegations of fraud, anomalies and election irregularities have become perennial issues every election, and the low rate of prosecution, either criminal or administrative, of election offenses as well as the low rate of conviction emboldens people to commit illegal acts,” it added.
