LAWMAKERS voiced concern Monday over the alleged pattern of cheating favoring administration candidates discovered by some opposition candidates and voters who participated in overseas absentee voting.
At the same time, Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz, member of the independent minority bloc in the House, said he is filing a resolution in Congress to investigate the matter.
He also wrote Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista to address the issue.
“These reports which have been widely circulated in both traditional and social media, if true, are definitely disturbing and a cause of great concern to us all,” De la Cruz said in his letter to Bautista.
The irregularities include incomplete voters lists and a discrepancy between votes cast and votes posted, the letter said.
“There are also reports that some embassy and consulate staff were caught on camera campaigning for Team Daang Matuwid and purportedly distributing Comelec materials which turned out to be for the Roxas-Robredo team,” the letter added.
De la Cruz said his group was gathering some of those materials for the information and appropriate action by the Comelec.
De la Cruz said the discrepancies between the voter receipts and the votes actually posted in several instances of overseas absentee voting could be a precursor of more widespread fraud during the May 9 elections.
“Let us be vigilant and expose these corrupting influences,” he said.
House deputy minority leader and 1-BAP party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III said that massive cheating on May 9 to favor administration candidates led by administration bet Manuel Roxas was likely to occur.
Bello, a supporter of presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, said he believes the administration will resort to all forms of “hocus focus” to ensure victory of its candidates, especially Roxas who is lagging in surveys.
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista on Monday said political parties should file a complaint and present their evidence of poll cheating in Hong Kong, Guam, Dubai, Kuwait and Okinawa, Japan before the poll body can investigate the reported discrepancies.
“Our challenge and appeal to all voters is to file a formal complaint… as soon as possible, especially the political parties [who are claiming cheating],” Bautista said.
He added that voters should immediately report any discrepancies to the board of election inspectors.
Earlier, vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his cousin senatorial candidate Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez bared “a pattern of cheating” to deprive them of their votes in the ongoing overseas absentee voting.
The opposition United Nationalist Alliance presidential candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay also complained of similar incidents.
Marcos said he has received several reports over the weekend that votes being cast in his favor were being credited to another vice presidential candidate, Senator Gregorio Honasan of UNA, who has been trailing opinion surveys.
Marcos, Romualdez and Binay said they were alarmed that the same kind of cheating would mar the May 9 polls when 54 million voters cast their votes.
Romualdez on Monday pounded on the Comelec to protect the sanctity of ballot as he asked the poll body to explain the alleged crediting of his votes to another senatorial candidate.
Romualdez said Comelec and Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corp. should explain to him and the public why there were discrepancies between the actual votes on the ballot and the printed voter receipts during the overseas absentee voting
Romualdez cited reports reaching him that his overseas Filipino workers’ votes in Hong Kong have been counted in favor of another senatorial candidate, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares.
“The Comelec and Smartmatic should explain this reported incident because this may happen again in other parts of the world under the absentee voting and even on the May 9 elections in many part of the country,” said Romualdez.
Colmenares demanded that the Comelec unmask those behind the vote switching.
“If this is a black propaganda or cheating, we want to know who is behind it and hold them accountable,” Colmenares said.
“Should it be found that the allegation is true and a Comelec personnel is responsible for such fraud I will personally file a case against him and see to it that he goes to prison,” he added.
Presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe also urged the Comelec to investigate allegations of cheating in the overseas absentee voting. This, she said, could be used to favor administration candidate Manuel Roxas II, who has been trailing in most opinion surveys.
She also reminded diplomats, military and police to refrain from campaigning for certain politicians and to stay apolitical. Since they are government employees, they should not campaign for any candidate, she said.
In a text message, re-electionist Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the Senate committee on electoral reforms, said if there is enough evidence, his panel would investigate the reports.
The Palace, on the other hand, said it would leave it up to the Comelec to investigate the allegations of cheating.
On Monday, Marcos called on overseas workers to be vigilant and to report discrepancies in their voters receipts. – With Christine F. Herrera, Sandy Araneta and Macon Ramos-Araneta