By RYAN ROSAURO
MindaNews
MARAWI CITY.— Election results transmitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central server after the May 10 polls include those from nine ghost precincts in Lanao del Sur.
One of these precincts is located in a ghost barangay named Padian Torogan which, in Maranao, means cemetery.
The nine precincts are in Madalum town which Renault Macarambon, Comelec assistant regional director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), has confirmed to be non-existent.
Comelec figures show that elections took place in these ghost precincts, with a voter turnout of 69 percent or 893 of 1,283 supposed registered voters. The results from the phantom precincts can be viewed at the Comelec’s election results website, www.ibanangayon.ph.
The Comelec’s project of precincts (POPs) in Madalum shows Madalum with having 37 clustered precincts with 8,127 registered voters.
The nine ghost precincts are part of the 43 precincts across the towns of Madalum, Balabagan, Tagoloan and Maguing which SMARTMATIC surveyors were unable to locate during a survey conducted before the elections. The survey aimed to test whether the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines could transmit results from these areas at the close of voting on May 10.
When SMARTMATIC brought the matter to the Comelec’s attention, the poll body dispatched a probe team to the areas. In Madalum town, the investigation discovered that nine precincts did not exist.
These are Basak Primary school, Gurain Primary School, Lilitun Madrasah School, Punud Elemeraty School, Riray Primary School, Udangun Primary School, Racotan Primary School, Bacayawan Elementary School, and Padian Torogan Madrasah School.
Last month, the online site Newsbreak, which obtained a copy of the Comelec investigation findings, reported that probers were unable to locate seven of the nine supposed precincts in Madalum with residents near the areas telling them they were not aware of the existence of these schools.
Only two, the Gurain Primary School and Padian Torogan Madrasah School, existed but are no longer in use. The school in Gurain is already a house, while the madrasah was already abandoned.
Based on the Comelec POP, Bacayawan covers clustered precincts 4a and 4B, Basak 6A, Gurain 16A, Lilitun 23A, Padian Torogan 26A, Punud 29A, Racotan 31A, Riray 32A, and Udangun 41A.
Admin bets dominate
The poll results in the nine phantom precincts showed that ghost voters went for administration bets in the local local contests.
Of the 893 votes supposedly cast, Lakas-Kampi mayoral bet Usman Sarangani Jr garnered 808 and reelectionist governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. got 705.
Reelectionist second district Rep. Pangalian Balindong of Lakas-Kampi leads the race with 599 votes against former Rep. Benasing Macarambon of the Nacionalista Party who got 199.
In the presidential race, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino led the tally with 328 votes, former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro with 285 and Sen. Manuel Villar 161.
The vice-presidential race in the ghost precincts is a toss-up only between Makati mayor Jejomar Binay and Sen. Loren Legarda although the latter is a poor second in the tallies. Binay cornered 576 votes against Legarda’s 138. Sen. Manuel Roxas, who expects to win the vice-presidential race with a slim margin, only got around 10 votes.
The group Coconut Farmers Association of Linamon, Lanao del Norte, Inc. (COFA) dominated the partylist race, cornering a total of 456 votes; Biyayang Bukid 25, Ang Laban ng Indiginong Filipino (ALIF) 21, and Action for Dynamic Development Inc. (ADD) 22.
A ghost 12 years ago
One of the nine ghost precincts, Padian Torogan, had been declared non-extistent by the Comelec on June 29, 1998.
Sultan Usman Sarangani, Soraida M. Sarangani and Hadji Nor Hassan, former Municipal Mayor, incumbent Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Madalum, appealed the ruling and even brought the matter to the Supreme Court which sustained the Comelec on June 26, 2000.
The ruling was based on a June 18, 2008 ocular inspection by personnel of Comelec and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) that found only two structures existing in the area–a concrete house with no roof, and another wooden structure without walls and roof.
“This obviously means that no single human being could possibly reside in these two structures,” the 1998 ocular inspection report noted.
At that time, no person in the area also claimed to be a resident or a registered voter of a certain Barangay Padian Torogan, which is Maranao for cemetery. ###