Resolution No. 8432

WHEREAS, Section 2 of Republic Act No. 8189 (The Voters' Registration Act of 1996) declares that:

"It is the policy of the State to systematize the present method of registration in order to establish a clean, complete, permanent and updated list of voters."

WHEREAS, the premise of credible elections is basically anchored on a clean voters' list;

WHEREAS, various resolutions were promulgated by the Commission on Elections addressing the purging of double/multiple registrants in the list of voters, among which are:

1. Minute Resolution No. 00-0787 dated April 11, 2000, In the Matter of Annulling the Second or Subsequent Registration of any Registered Voter While His First Registration Subsists;
2. Minute Resolution No. 1513 dated July 25, 2000, In the Matter Of The Omnibus Resolution Annulling The Second Or Subsequent Registration Of Any Registered Voter While His First Registration Subsists;
3. Minute Resolution No. 06-1371 dated December 11, 2006, In the Matter of the Memorandum of Executive Director Pio Jose S. Joson Forwarding the Memorandum of Director Divina E. Blas-Perez, Election and Barangay Affairs Department, Relative to the Policy Guidelines on the X-Files; and,
4. Resolution No. 7893 dated May 8, 2007, In the Matter Of Double/Multiple Registrants Found In Different Districts, Cities And Municipalities;

WHEREAS, The Information and Technology Department (ITD) has reported that some 18, 983 registered voters, based on the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) matching, have subsequent registration and that despite the fact that some used different names, still, it was verified and established with certainty that the fingerprint imprints belong to one and the same persons, and that 12,037 registrations were found to be within the same municipality or in other cities/municipalities/provinces in the ARMM region;

WHEREAS, in view of the forthcoming August 11, 2008 ARMM Elections, the Commission in the fulfillment of its constitutional mandate to conduct free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections, must prevent double/multiple voting inconsonance with the universal principle of "one man, one vote" by cleansing the list of voters in the ARMM;

WHEREAS, it is imperative and logical that the policy and guidelines enunciated in the foregoing Resolutions be adopted for the purpose of purging the names of the double/multiple registrants from the voter's list;

WHEREAS, the first registration in terms of date or time shall subsist and remain valid and the deletion in the subsequent registration/s will not disenfranchise nor deprive voters of their constitutional rights to vote;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Commission, by virtue of the powers vested in it by the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, the Omnibus Election Code, Republic Act No. 8189 and other election laws, RESOLVED, as it hereby RESOLVES, to promulgate the following procedures to be observed by all Election Officers/Acting Election Officers and Election Registration Boards (ERB) in the ARMM, and ITD, in so far as the names of the registrants which appear in the aforesaid lists submitted by the ITD is concerned, to wit:

1. The Information Technology Department (ITD) shall print eight (8) copies of the list of voters with double/multiple registrations, by Barangay/ city/ municipality, reflecting the dates of the first and subsequent registrations, birthdates, and places of registrations;
2. The print outs together with two (2) blank CDs per city/ municipality with records for deletion shall be sent to the Election Officers concerned. The ITD shall furnish a copy thereof to the Provincial Election Supervisors and Education and Information Department for purposes of monitoring and supervision on the compliance of this resolution;
3. The EO shall:
   1. BEFORE THE ERB HEARING:
      1. Post the said list at least ten (10) days before the March 28, 2008 ERB hearing in the bulletin board of his
         office and in the city/ municipal hall or any other conspicuous public place. Any interested party may file their objection/opposition on or before March 26, 2008.
      2. Furnish the Dominant Majority Party, Dominant Minority Party and the Citizens' Arm in the locality a copy of
         the said list.
      3. Submit the said list to the ERB which shall convene on March 28, 2008 for the purpose of deleting their
         names from the Computerized Voters' List (CVL).
      4. Send notice of the date, time and place of ERB hearing to the members of the ERB, Dominant Majority Party, Dominant Minority Party and the Citizens' Arm and post the same in the city/ municipal hall, on or before March 23, 2008.
   2. DURING THE ERB HEARING:
      Prepare the Minutes of the ERB proceedings in three (3) copies.
   3. AFTER THE ERB HEARING:
      1. Store in two (2) Compact Discs (CD) the back-up copies of the list of deleted double/ multiple registrants with names, birthdates and addresses.
      2. Retain one (1) copy of the Minutes for his file and transmit the Minutes and the CDs by registered mail or by any other fastest means to the Provincial Election Supervisor (PES) who shall personally deliver, on or before May 20, 2008, the following:
         1. One (1) CD each to the Information Technology Department (ID) and Election and Barangay Affairs
            Department (EBAD); and
         2. One (1) copy of the Minutes each to the Office of the Deputy Executive Director for Operations
            (ODEDO) and EBAD.
      3. Post the lists of the deleted double/ multiple registrants reflecting therein their names, birthdates and the places of registration, at least three (3) days in the bulletin board of the city/ municipal hall or in any other conspicuous public place.
      4. Furnish the Dominant Majority Party and Dominant Minority Party and Citizens' Arm copies of said list.
      5. Remove from the Book of Voters the VRRs of the registrants whose names were deleted from the CVL.
      6. File the removed VRRs in a separate folder to be labeled "DELETED PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. _____________".
      7. Keep in his custody and care the said folder as documentary evidence for future court actions, if any, and for other relevant purposes.
   4. On the date of the hearing, the ERB, shall delete the names of voters with subsequent registration(s) in the CVL used in the immediately preceding elections.
   5. Any voter who has established his residence in the place where he/she subsequently registered but whose name has been deleted from the CVL pursuant to this Resolution, may apply for transfer of his/her first registration records from April 1 to 10, 2008.

The deletion of the subsequent registration shall not be a bar to the filing of the appropriate charges, if any. Let the Election and Barangay Affairs Department implement this Resolution and the Education and Information Department, this Commission, to cause the publication of this resolution in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines, and immediately furnish copies thereof to all concerned Election Officers, Provincial Election Supervisors, and Regional Election Director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

SO ORDERED.