Comelec poised to weed out flying voters

AN intensive cleansing of the voters’ list nationwide looms as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it has discovered some 400,000 double registrants signifying potential flying voters in the forthcoming barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections.

Comelec chairman George Garcia said the figure could possibly go up to 500,000 as review of the list has yet to be completed. “As of today, those who were able to register from December 12 to January 31 this year, we were able to verify that there are at least 400,000 double or multiple registrants,” Garcia told the ANC network.

By Rio N. Araja and Maricel V. Cruz

SECRETARY Jose Rizalino Acuzar of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) on Thursday said a legislative more to institutionalize the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino program (4PH) will provide a significant push to the housing sector.

Meanwhile, a lawmaker from the Bicol region lauded Acuzar’s initiatives to forge tie-ups with the private sector to build six million affordable homes during the Marcos administration

Acuzar was referring to Senate Bill 2108 filed by Senator Christopher Lawrence Go seeking to legislate 4PH, the flagship housing program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to ensure its sustainability.

He recognized previous efforts to back the housing and urban development sector in terms of funding by Congress, including Senator Francis Tolentino’s measure establishing the National Comprehensive Housing Financing Program.

I am so thankful to our senators for supporting President Marcos Jr. in realizing his dream of providing affordable, modern, decent and sustainable housing for homeless Filipinos,” Acuzar said.

Go’s bill aims to bridge the country’s housing gap through a comprehensive plan focused on providing affordable and decent housing for Filipinos, particularly the poor families.

He said his proposed law would ensure that every Filipino could afford a safe and comfortable place to live in.

The bill also provides for a mechanism to subsidize amortization and interest for the beneficiaries, a key feature of the 4PH program.

Potential buyer-beneficiaries must be capable of and committed to paying the subsidized housing loan amortization.

On the other hand, Tolentino’s National Comprehensive Housing Financing Program proposes to automatically appropriate funds for the government’s housing agencies to ignite a large-scale program such as the 4PH for the country to catch up with the housing backlog and provide a home for every Filipino.

THE House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation on Thursday started looking into the shortage of license plates and plastic cards for driver’s licenses being issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

At the hearing, Transportation Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo Tugade asserted that the LTO was doing its best to address the backlog in driver’s license cards.

As of May 2, there was a total of 234,149 backlogs, the LTO admitted.

The committee chaired by Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop held a motu proprio inquiry into the shortage of plastic ID cards for driver’s licenses.

Tugade told the committee that of the 234,149 shortage of driver’s license cards was the most ever recorded, with Region 4A accounting for 47,125 backlogs, followed by Region 3 with 38,728.

He said the agency targets to produce 80 percent of the backlogs in license plates by the end of 2023.

He also assured the committee that “contingencies have been prepared to address” the problem and to make its target achievable.

Tugade maintained that several measures have been done to enable the LTO increase the number of driver’s license cards to be procured in the succeeding years. These include to have a one-year buffer based on yearly-projected number of transactions: secure a multiyear contracting authority which may possibly need the President’s approval and separate the schedule of delivery of cards for the current year and the succeeding year.

Based on the LTO records submitted to the committee, several LTO offices recorded the following backlogs: 32,400 in Region 7; 18,695 in Region 12; 15,777 in Region 11; 11,420 in Region 10; 11,414 in Region 6; 10, 511 in Region 9; 9,565 in Region 8; 9,177 in Region 2; 8,789 in Cariaga Region; 7,983 in Region 1; 6,970 in Region 5; 5,716 in Cordillera Administrative Region; 4,236 in National Capital Region-West and 1,359 in National Capital Region East. Maricel V. Cruz

“We will be finishing with our assessment by the end of May and hopefully, it will reach at least 500,000,” Garcia said.

He vowed transparency on the results of their investigation. “We are going to expose that. We are going to make a detail as to when or where are the places where there are double or multiple registrants.”

The Senate was also poised to conduct an inquiry into the irregularity as suggested by Senator Imee Marcos.

Marcos charged that the fraudulent

In Brief

CHR weighs in on rape, killing of minors in QC, Tagum voters’ registrations were “bankrolled by big-time businessmen, contractors, and suppliers in anticipation of an increase in the internal revenue allotment of barangays arising from the so-called Mandanas ruling by the Supreme Court.

In the interview, Garcia also underscored the need to revisit Omnibus Election Code with a view to punishing flying voters.

“It’s a perennial problem, always a problem not only of the Comelec but the entire country,” he said.

“Indeed, there are individuals who wanted to exploit the defects in our laws... that’s why we can even see flying voters. Voters who are not really from this area or voters who are being led in masse by certain individuals or politicians,” he added. up via the DITO Website and 185 Hotline.

“Indeed, other than the efforts of the Commission on Elections, there should be amendments of certain laws especially on the issues of registration of voters,” Garcia stressed.

• The list of requirements includes the following: i. One valid ID ii. A proof of billing Proof of billing includes the following: • Utility bills (i.e. water, electricity, internet, landline, mobile phone, association dues) • Bank-issued documents (bank statements, credit card bills) • Others: Club membership SOA, insurance premium SOA, barangay certificate of residence, notarized lease of contract, Pag-Ibig Housing SOA, airway bill/proof of shipping

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5. Once subscribed to any DITO Home 5G Postpaid plan, monthly data allocation will be replenished based on the subscriber’s billing cycle (example, every 10th of the month). A summary of the billing cycle is below:

THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has stepped into the murder of two minors who were separately abducted, raped, and killed in Quezon City and in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

The CHR mobilized its regional offices to help bring the perpetrators to justice and extend assistance to the victims’ families.

Last April 30 in Barangay San Bartolome, Quezon City, a man allegedly approached a 14-yearold girl in front of a variety store, then molested her.

The victim complained to her father, who sought police assistance.

A complainant from Barangay Matandang Balara confirmed that her houseboy had been sexually abusing an eight-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy while coercing them to watch pornographic videos in the complainant’s own house.

She immediately reported the incident to local authorities.

Last May 1, police tracked down and apprehended both suspects.

In Barangay Apokon, Tatum City, two other victims of sexual assault were reported.

The body of a nine-year-old girl was found on April 20, four days after she was last seen taking her younger sister to school.

According to Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy, an autopsy confirmed that the nine-year old lass was sexually assaulted before she was killed.

Last April 25 in Barangay Magugpo, local officials discovered the body of an 18-year-old working coed, last seen three days earlier in a CCTV footage within the premises of a convenience store, and that she was able to send a message to a friend saying she was raped.

Investigations to identify and apprehend the suspects behind these two unrelated cases of abduction, rape and killings in Tagum City were still ongoing. Rio N. Araja

P7.37b, 3.17-km span oversea bridge in Mindanao 69% done

THE P7.37 billion, 3.17-kilometer Panguil Bay Bridge project of the government, the longest seacrossing span in Northern Mindanao is already 69 percent complete, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

In a statement, the DPWH said the project was expected to be 90 percent finished by December 2023, and scheduled to be formally opened by June 2024.

The bridge will connect Tangub City in Misamis Occidental to Tubod, Lanao del Norte, cutting travel time between the two provinces from two and a half hours to just seven minutes.

DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain, chief of the DPWH infrastructure flagship projects under the “Build, Better, More” program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, said the bridge was designed to deliver lots of benefits to the local economy and convenience for businesses and the general public in Northern Mindanao.

“We are particularly excited about the upcoming completion of the Panguil Bay Bridge Project, which we believe marks a significant milestone for the whole Mindanao,” Sadain said.

This valuable infrastructure project will greatly enhance economic growth as it will serve as a vital gateway that connects and further strengthens the region’s infrastructure, providing seamless transportation of goods and services.

Although the design and build activities for the Panguil Bay Bridge Project were slowed down by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, work resumed last year as the pandemic slowed down.

The project is funded by a loan agreement between the Philippines and South Korea.

Vito Barcelo

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• DITO Home Data-Capped 5G Postpaid plan 990 subscribers may, at any time, avail of the booster promo below:

DITO 5G Home WiFi Postpaid Booster Promo (with DITO rewards & data rollover)

PRICE DATA ALLOCATION VALIDITY ₱190 20GB 30 days

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