Tensions flare as Lanao del Sur court summons 2,000 over ‘fake voter’ allegations

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines – Tensions flared in a Lanao del Sur town after a judge summoned some 2,000 people to appear in court over allegations of being fake voters.

The court’s summons stemmed from a mayoral aspirant’s separate petitions seeking to exclude nearly 3,000 names from the official voters’ list in Pualas town.

On Thursday and Friday, December 12 and 13, hundreds of supporters of Pualas Mayor Amanoden Ducol flocked to Ganassi town to protest and question the petitions filed by Al Ihsan Marohom Ibrahim before the Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MTCC).

The court has jurisdiction over Pualas and the neighboring municipalities of Madamba and Pagayawan in Lanao del Sur.

In his November 19 and 21 petitions, Ibrahim alleged that nearly 3,000 of the 9,151 names on the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) list for Pualas were “fictitious voters” who should be delisted.

“Based on our tabulation, we seek the removal of 2,900 alleged fake voters that have registered in Pualas town,” lawyer Mohammad Jihad Sarangani , chief legal counsel of the petitioner told reporters.

As a result, MTCC Branch 3 Judge Flerida Aisa Baluto-Macaraya issued December 4 summons requiring 2,000 individuals from the Pualas voters’ list to appear in court and answer questions about their age and residency.

Outside the courtroom, a group of voters lined up to comply with the court’s order.

Tensions rose when Ducol’s supporters tried to prevent a convoy, carrying Sarangani and other lawyers representing Ibrahim, from leaving the MTCC Branch 3 courtyard in Ganassi.

Lieutenant Colonel Juanito Jamis, deputy director of the Philippine National Police in Lanao del Sur, said Ducol’s supporters alleged that two unidentified armed men were in the lawyers’ convoy.

Jamis, however, said they checked and found that the armed men were policemen from Maguindanao province and that their papers were in order.

“The policemen presented their travel orders and other pertinent documents. Their escort duty was legal,” Jamis said.

According to the International Crisis Group, elections and the months leading up to election day are often marked by fistfights and brawls between candidates’ supporters in Lanao del Sur.

It has also noted that the Comelec declared a failure of elections in 14 Lanao del Sur areas in 2022 due to violent incidents involving warring politicians and their supporters. – Rappler.com