Solons push for general registration of voters from ARMM

MANILA, Philippines — House leaders on Friday urged for a new general registration of voters from the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

House Joint Resolution 29 which sought for the immediate registration of ARMM voters and cancellation of the Book of Voters was filed by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II who said that the motion would ensure the credibility of elections from the said region.

Gonzales said that the move was backed by the “Executive Department (which) has publicly expressed support to the need for the new general registration of voters in the ARMM.”

Due to previous anomalies in election results from the region, there was a need for a general registration to rid ARMM of its illegal and fictitious registrants, according to Belmonte. He mentioned that it was the Commission on Elections (Comelec) who will take on the task of initiating “reform moves starting with the purging of the Book of Voters of illegal and fictitious voters.”

Citing the National Statistics Office (NSO) report which pegged the ARMM population to be only 3.3 million in 2010, Gonzales pointed out that in 2007, the ARMM already had a population of 4.1 million which was disproportionate to the reported growth rate in the region. “While the country’s population growth rate grew by just 1.89 percent between 2000 and 2007, ARMM reported a population growth rate of 5.46 percent with Maguindanao at 6.6 percent and Basilan at 6.44 percent.”

Padding the Book of Voters was, Belmonte said, the practice of “unscrupulous leaders (in order to) perpetuate themselves in power and give them a sense of invincibility to commit unbridled abuses and anomalies” and suspension of registration of voters in the Visayas and areas outside of the ARMM until August 31 was necessary for Comelec to deploy enough personnel and equipment and rid the region of its illegal voters, said the majority leader.

Gonzales added that the said agency should be authorized to conduct direct contracting or pursue alternative methods of procuring the necessary equipment under the 2012 General Appropriations Act.

“Congress has recently enacted Republic Act 10153 which synchronizes the ARMM election with the national election as a major step towards electoral reform in the ARMM and this Resolution will supplement and complement the said law.”