BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has deactivated the voting record of former mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
Interviewed over Aksyon Radyo Iloilo, Election Assistant Jonathan Sayno of Comelec-Iloilo City, confirmed yesterday that they deactivated the voting record of Mabilog after he failed to participate in three successive elections – in 2019 midterm polls, 2022 presidential elections, and the youth and barangay council elections 2023.
Section 27 of the Republic Act 8189, or the Voter’s Registration Act of 1996, states that the Election Registration Board “shall deactivate the registration and remove the registration records” of any person
“who did not vote in the two successive preceding regular elections as shown by their voting records.”
Deactivated voters may apply for reactivation until September 30, 2024, the deadline for the ongoing voters’ registration.
The deactivated voters will be placed on “inactive” status but will not be deleted from Comelec’s database.
Mabilog, who served as Iloilo City’s mayor from 2010 to 2017, has been out of the country since 2017 after being linked to illegal drug activities by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
His continued absence from Iloilo City contributed to his failure to vote in the past elections, resulting in the deactivation of his voting record.
Deactivated voters can reactivate their records by personally appearing at the Comelec office, submitting a new application for registration, and completing the requirements.
Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne “Jam-Jam” Baronda earlier voiced her willingness to convince Mabilog to return home and shed light on what transpired during his incumbency that led to this city having been tagged as the “most stabilized” city in 2017.
During the recent hearing of the House of Representatives “quad” committee, Baronda told her colleagues that she was ready to communicate with Mabilog and persuade him to go home and testify.
“Kung gustuhin man ng komisyon na ito, I might be able to convince Mayor Jed to go home so we can also ask for his statement on what happened to him,” said Baronda.
The House quad committee conducted its first hearing yesterday on the proliferation of drugs and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) under the administration of Duterte.
The “quad” committee is composed of the Committees of Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts.
Duterte tagged Iloilo City as the country’s “most shabulized” city and the “bedrock of illegal drugs” after accusing Mabilog of being a “drug protector.”
Mabilog had repeatedly denied the allegations and never returned home to Iloilo City since 2017 due to fears for his security.
In 2017, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales sacked Mabilog after he was found guilty of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service over the alleged anomalous towing deal.
Morales ordered his dismissal from the service with the accessory penalties of perpetual disqualification from holding public office, cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and bar from taking the civil service examinations.
But the Court of Appeals (CA) has reversed the lifetime ban of Mabilog from public office, as it absolved him in an administrative case concerning allegations of ill-gotten wealth.
In a 22-page decision, the CA 19th Division granted Mabilog’s petition questioning the Ombudsman’s August 29, 2017 decision and February 8, 2018 order that found him guilty of serious dishonesty.
The CA further explained that Mabilog “did not conceal or misrepresent anything about this increase in his net worth,” because he openly declared the P8.98-million increase in his net worth and voluntarily submitted his wife’s tax returns./PN
