Probe Vowed On Singapore Pre-Shaded Ballot

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner George Garcia has vowed to initiate an investigation into the alleged use of a pre-shaded ballot in overseas voting in Singapore.

He said he is set to bring the matter up with his colleagues when the poll body meets as a whole today, April 13.

“I will move to investigate why this happened,” Garcia told reporters in a Viber message on Tuesday, April 12, when asked if the Comelec’s Task Force Against Fake News, which he heads, will investigate the allegations.

The Comelec meets as a whole every Wednesday.

Garcia said the Comelec has already received reports from the Philippine embassy in Singapore, confirming that a spoiled ballot was “inadvertently and unintentionally” given to a voter on Monday, April 11.

He called the incident “very unfortunate” as he emphasized that an investigation is important so that such irregularity would not happen again.

“We should really find out why this spoiled ballot was in the first place given to the voter. This should have been segregated and put in an envelope for spoiled ballots and should not be included in the good or valid ballots,” Garcia said in a television interview.

“So we are asking the reason why and definitely we will be able to get an answer in the next few days,” he added.

Vice President Leni Robredo said the report was “a cause for concern” and called for an investigation.

“It should be investigated. It’s not just the Senate but all bodies that have a mandate to investigate because what is at stake here is the integrity of the elections,” she said in an interview in La Union. Robredo is running for president.

“As of now, the Comelec said it’s an isolated incident. But we need to encourage the public to report such incidents,” she said.

She also urged Sen. Imee Marcos, sister of presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to resign as chair of the Senate committee on electoral reforms.

“There should be an initiative to step down from her assignment if there is respect for the process. It must come from her,” Robredo said.

An overseas voter Cheryl Abundo said on her social media account that she received a ballot where the names of vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio “and some senators” were already shaded.

Garcia said he is worried that the incident might cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process.

“Of course, this is human error. We realized that, but we are asking and we are pleading with the electoral board that the same incident should not happen again in the future,” he said.

Garcia said that they are also looking into reports of a similar incident in Dubai. He declined to give details, saying embassy officials in Dubai have yet to make an official statement on the matter.

In a statement issued on Monday, Duterte-Carpio Reports about pre-shaded ballots discovered during the absentee voting in Singapore and Dubai are not to be taken lightly.

“That my name was allegedly pre-shaded, along with some senatorial candidates, is grossly disconcerting. As a politician, my experience has taught me that Filipinos do not respect those who cheat and engage in election fraud. And I take with great pride in the fact that my history in politics has never been tainted by cheating, fraud, and other election irregularities that could question my integrity and leadership,” Duterte-Carpio said.

“I never have and will never condone cheating. I won my past elections because the people voted for me,” she added.

The mayor said the legal team of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, which she now leads, will officially request the Commission on Elections to conduct an investigation into the allegation of electoral irregularities in Dubai and Singapore.

“The same action is also to be requested from the Comelec for future similar reports and allegations — if any. Let me also take this opportunity to call on all Filipinos both in the Philippines and overseas to be vigilant against electoral fraud and ensure that your votes are protected. It is our collective responsibility to make sure that the 2022 elections is safe, free, fair, and credible,” Duterte-Carpio noted.

In Italy, the Philippine embassy said registered Filipino voters may now accomplish their ballots within the embassy premises.

A Filipina claimed on Monday that several overseas voters in Rome were not given a proper place inside the embassy to accomplish ballots.

The Filipino presented videos and pictures of Filipino voters accomplishing their ballots on the sidewalk of a hospital near the embassy.

In its Overseas Voting Advisory, the embassy also notified voters that the Overseas Voting Secretariat of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA-OVS) authorized the embassy on Monday to set up a space within its premises where voters may cast votes after accomplishing their ballots.

Meanwhile, Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos, vice chairman of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People, said in an interview with Church-run Radyo Veritas that overseas Filipino voters should not waste their chance to vote and elect new leaders in the May 9 polls.

Santos explained that voting is a right of every Filipino, who should be discerning and wise in choosing the country’s next leaders.

“We, at CBCP ECMI and Stella Maris, encourage our dear OFWs in their free time and make the best effort to go and vote from this April 10-May 9 in their respective embassies and consular offices,” Santos said. – With Pia Lee Brago