Over 1,000 dead still on Palompon voters’ list, says mayoral bet

ORMOC, LEYTE – In Palompon town, Leyte province, more than a thousand names of deceased individuals reportedly remain on the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) voters’ list, while several living voters have found their names missing.

Mayoral candidate Georgina Arevalo raised the concern, saying that COMELEC election officer Elvisa Tiu has yet to provide a clear explanation for the discrepancy.

Arevalo expressed hope that the issue will be resolved promptly, with just a month to go before the midterm elections.

“This is very frustrating because we have been asking COMELEC to remove the names of dead voters,” she said in an interview on Friday, April 10.

She warned that the failure to clean up the voters’ list could affect the results of the elections in their town, which has around 46,000 registered voters. In the previous elections, where incumbent Mayor Ramon Oñate won, the margin of victory was only 4,000 votes, Arevalo noted.

To date, Arevalo said they have identified 1,089 deceased voters whose names still appear on the list—some of whom died as early as 2012. Of these, 674 have already been verified with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), yet the names remain.

Despite the documentation, Arevalo said Tiu continues to delay action on their requests.

In addition to the issue of dead voters, Arevalo reported that around 100 of her supporters could no longer find their names on the list.

Arevalo also said Tiu has not given us a clear explanation.

Complaints Filed

On Friday, at least 15 individuals visited the COMELEC office in Palompon to either request the removal of their deceased relatives from the voters’ list or to complain about the removal of their own names despite being eligible voters. They added to the number of earlier complainants.

COMELEC Officer Tiu could not be reached for comment as she was attending an event outside the office that day.

As a rule, voters are removed from the list if they fail to vote in two consecutive elections. COMELEC is also mandated to regularly update the voters’ list by removing deceased individuals or those who have transferred to another locality.

Affidavits Submitted

Rosemarie Tuico of Barangay Lomonon visited the COMELEC office bringing an affidavit to certify that her father died in February 2025 and should therefore be removed from the voters’ list.

“Kay naa pa man siya sa voters’ list, bisag patay na. Ang ako lang, ipapapas siya,” Tuico said. (Because he’s still on the voters’ list even though he’s already dead. I just want his name removed.)

Another complainant, Evalyn Catalago, said her mother, Esperanza, died five years ago, but her name still appears on the list.

Missing Voter Names

Other individuals visited COMELEC to clarify why their names were no longer on the voters’ list even though they had voted in the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

“Ako silang gi-clear diri kung tinuod ba nga wala ko sa master list, niingon man nga wala so niadto ko sa main COMELEC sa Intramuros. Two times ko nangayo ug certification unya giingnan ko sa COMELEC nga klaroha didto,” Merlyn Peñano said, a resident of Barangay Cantandoy in Palompon. (I asked them here to verify if it’s true that I’m not on the master list, and they said I wasn’t, so I went to the main COMELEC office in Intramuros. I asked for a certification twice, and COMELEC told me to clarify it here.)

Arevalo questioned how the names of dead voters remain while active voters are being delisted.

“The rule of thumb is if you haven’t voted in two consecutive elections, you’re removed. So how come these names are still there?” she asked.

She also expressed frustration that Tiu would not acknowledge PSA records and insisted on documents from the Local Civil Registrar instead.

COMELEC requires family members to submit an affidavit confirming the death, a death certificate, and a valid ID of the requesting party.

Catalago said she had submitted all the required documents and was told that her request would be addressed during the Election Registration Board (ERB) hearing on Monday, April 14, when the voters’ list will be finalized and manual deletions will be made.

The ERB hearing will be attended by the Election Officer, the Municipal Treasurer, and the Schools District Supervisor.

Possible Flying Voters

Arevalo also expressed concern over the possible presence of “flying voters” in Palompon. She said she obtained a copy of the 2022 Regular Voters’ List where multiple signatures appeared for the same individual.

Some residents also claimed that the signature beside their name on the list was not theirs.

“It’s very frustrating because we’ve been asking COMELEC to remove these names. We always end up at a dead-end,” Arevalo lamented.

Legal Support and Appeal

Lawyer Robie Quiño, who is running for councilor under Arevalo’s slate, assisted the complainants in filing their affidavits.

“We successfully submitted 15 affidavits. These names should be crossed out, and we will follow up,” Quiño said.

Arevalo also called on COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia to look into the complaints in Palompon.

Despite the setbacks, Arevalo remains hopeful.

“I’m still praying that the elections in our town will be peaceful,” she said.

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