FILE PHOTO: Former Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Bantug Benitez.
BACOLOD CITY – The Election Registration Board (ERB) has approved the application of former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez to transfer his voter registration to this city.
In its resolution released on Wednesday, July 28, the ERB denied the opposition to Benitez’s registration filed by three residents of Barangay Mandalagan.
Benitez expressed elation over the outcome of the petition.
“We respect and thank the ERB for the decision. We have complete faith in the Comelec-ERB process. Now, I am a registered voter of Bacolod City. Bacolod, here I come,” said Benitez who earlier announced that he is running for mayor of Bacolod in the 2022 elections.
Marcus Aurelian Vaflor, lawyer of Hector Yula, Teodoro Abao, and Jonah Abao, who are aligned with the Grupo Progreso of Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, said they will issue a statement after reading the ERB ruling.
Vaflor’s clients earlier filed an opposition against the transfer of the voter’s registration of Benitez from Victorias City to Bacolod City, saying the former congressman is not a resident of the Bantug compound at Mountain View Subdivision in Barangay Mandalagan.
But the ERB said the three petitioners are not residents of Mountain View Subdivision based on the evidence presented.
The ERB gave credence to Benitez’s witnesses who are residents of Mountain View Subdivision and in a much better position to prove his residency.
The board also said the petitioners’ contention in their position paper that Benitez must establish a new domicile before filing his application to register as a voter is gravely misplaced.
Section 9 of Republic Act 8189 or the Voter’s Registration Act of 1996 states that an applicant should be a resident of the place he proposes to vote at for at least six months immediately preceding the election.
The ERB said Benitez has met the residency requirement of six months on the day of the election.