Comelec: Cayetanos can still appeal junked voter record transfer bid

By Ferdinand Patinio, Philippine News Agency

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Erwin Garcia, however, declined to further tackle the case. (File Photo by patrickroque01/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA – Former Taguig mayor Lino Cayetano and his wife Fille can still exhaust legal remedies on the dismissal of their application to transfer their voter registration.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Erwin Garcia, however, declined to further tackle the case.

“It’s premature to answer. May mga remedies pa na pwede nilang ma-avail (Some remedies can still be availed of), hence, it’s improper to speculate at this point,” he said in a Viber message on Thursday.

The Comelec, in a 24-page resolution, said the Election Registration Board (ERB) denied the couple’s request to transfer their voter registration from the 2nd District of Taguig to the 1st District of Taguig-Pateros, where Lino is running for a congressional post.

The ERB noted that it thoroughly reviewed the couple’s claim that they have been residing in Pacific Residences, Barangay Ususan, Taguig City for two years and five months but found the evidence submitted as insufficient.

It noted the absence of standard identification documents usually submitted as proof of residence, such as a Philsys ID, Postal ID, Driver’s License, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance, Government Service Insurance System/Social Security System (GSIS/SSS) or Unified Multi-purpose ID (UMID) or barangay ID.

The only proof of identification presented by the couple were their passports, but these did not support their residency claim, as well as a PLDT billing statement dated October 2024.

The ERB could not determine if other billing statements existed before October 2024, making it unclear if this was their first bill, thus failing to establish long-term residency.

The Comelec also gave no weight to the alleged sublease of the couple at Pacific Residences.

In its final remarks, the ERB clarified that its resolution does not revoke the Cayetano couple’s right to vote in the elections.

It said the decision only denied their request to transfer their registration to Barangay Ususan, as they are not residents there.

The two remained voters of Barangay Fort Bonifacio.

COCs and CON-CANs available online

On the other hand, the Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) of all 183 senatorial aspirants, as well as the Certificates of Nomination and Certificates of Acceptance of Nomination (CON-CANs) of the 156 party-list organizations are now posted on the Comelec website via: https://comelec.gov.ph/?r=2025NLE/COC2025.

The public may now access online the redacted COCs and CON-CANs of senatorial aspirants and party-list organizations running in the midterm polls.

“Know your candidates,” Garcia said.

Earlier, Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the online posting of the COCs and CON-CANs is part of their effort to be transparent and give the people the chance to check the background and qualifications of the candidates.