Comelec probes ‘unusual’ voter surge in Cagayan de Oro’s largest barangay

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has started investigating over 4,000 people who sought to become new voters in Carmen, Cagayan de Oro over allegations that they are non-residents of the city’s largest barangay in terms of population and votes.

Renato Magbutay, Comelec-Northern Mindanao director, confirmed that the poll body noted an unusual surge in the number of people who applied as voters in Carmen, a vote-rich barangay with a history of making or breaking election campaigns in Cagayan de Oro.

Magbutay told Rappler on Friday, July 19, that complaints had been filed with the Comelec, leading the commission to start sending notices to over 4,000 people who sought to be registered.

With less than three months remaining before the September 30 voter registration deadline, the Comelec has stepped up the nationwide campaign to boost voter registration for the 2025 elections given the low registration turnout during the last barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

Magbutay, however, said that while a 5% increase in the number of voters was expected across the board, the surge in the number of applicants in Carmen was unusual.

There could be more than 4,000, and Cagayan de Oro 1st District Representative Lordan Suan has sounded the alarm over what he called a “ridiculous” increase in the number of voters seeking to be registered in Carmen.

Suan said he and his group counted more than 15,000 people who asked to register as new Carmen voters within a six-month period.

He said the first batch, about 6,500 people, tried to register as new voters in the barangay in February, followed by another 8,700 this month.

“Increases in the number of voters are expected, but this kind of surge is simply ridiculous,” Suan told Rappler.

He said many of Carmen’s potentially new voters were reported to be non-residents of the barangay and were apparently from Cagayan de Oro’s 2nd District.

Suan said Cagayan de Oro has experienced a construction boom, with new subdivisions mushrooming throughout the city, “but not in Carmen.”

“So where did they come from? This is systematic and massive,” he said.

Suan said he would bring the concern to the attention of the House of Representatives and call for a legislative inquiry.

Magbutay said the local Comelec office would need 12 more days from Friday to go over the disputed applications.

“Notices are being sent so they could explain why they are transferring as voters of Carmen before the election registration board,” he said.

If they don’t show up, Magbutay said, their applications would be rejected.

Carmen accounts for about 10.6% of Cagayan de Oro’s population, with 77,756 residents, based on the 2020 census. The barangay is part of the city’s 1st District, which had a voting population of 177,163 at that time, 17,967 fewer than the 2nd District.

The barangay has long been a major battleground, especially between the rival political families of Suan and Cagayan de Oro Mayor Rolando Uy. Uy began his political career as Carmen’s barangay chairman in the 1990s, and his family members have been taking turns leading the vote-rich area ever since, frustrating the Suans’ attempts to gain political control.

The Suans and Uys have been fighting for control of Barangay Carmen for years. Agapito Jr., the congressman’s father, ran against the mayor’s son, Raineir Joaquin, for the chairmanship of Carmen in the last barangay elections and lost.

Allegations of massive vote-buying marred the 2023 barangay elections in Carmen, with the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) reporting that votes there allegedly commanded a price of at least P6,000 each.

In 2022, Rainier Joaquin, the city’s previous vice mayor, lost to the younger Suan in the race for the congressional seat in the city’s 1st District. He staged a comeback by becoming Carmen’s barangay chairman last year and is now preparing to challenge the congressman’s likely reelection bid next year. – Rappler.com