Senator Nancy Binay said on Monday, November 18 that criminal cases may likely be filed if barangay officials are found to be involved in the anomalous surge of voters in Makati.

During the budget deliberations in the Senate, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) confirmed the highly irregular surge of voter transferees in the two congressional districts of Makati, which was brought about by the massive issuance of barangay certifications.

"The data for Makati is fairly clear because the questions arose during the exclusion effort, and sa Makati, ang bagong rehistro ay 18,555 sa dalawang distrito, pero ang transfer mula sa ibang siyudad, munisipyo, nasa 38,031, kaya kung idadagdag ‘yung dalawa, ‘yung bago at saka transfer, nasa 56,586 (in Makati, the new registrations amount to 18,555 in two districts, while the transfers from other cities and municipalities total 38,031. So, if we add those two figures together—the new registrations and the transfers—we get a total of 56,586)," explained Sen. Imee Marcos, who is sponsoring the Comelec's budget.

"Base po sa experience ng Comelec (Based on the experience of the Comelec), I guess based on their historical data, ‘yung numero po ba na ito ay posible na nabawasan ng sampung barangay ang Makati pero nadagdagan ng 38,031 ang transferees? (is this number possible that ten barangays have been decreased in Makati, but there has been an increase of 38,031 transferees?)" Binay asked.

According to Binay, there has been an “unusual”’ increase of 55 percent in the number of new voters in the second district of Makati and 15 percent in the first district, far from the about 5 percent the “normal rise” in the voting population.

"Sang-ayon ang Comelec na very unusual kasi nga nabawasan ng sampung barangay, ngunit 57,000 halos ang nadagdag na botante (The Comelec agrees that it's very unusual since ten barangays were removed, yet nearly 57,000 new voters have been added)," Marcos confirmed.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the en banc will study the Election Registration Board (ERB) recommendation and the task force formed to investigate the surge of voters and prosecute barangay officials responsible for the issue.

Binay said that she'd file criminal raps if they have engaged in the commission, facilitation, complicity, or any irregularity in violation of election laws as she wants full accountability from barangay officials responsible for "abusing" the issuance of barangay residence certificates as a requirement for voter transfer or registration.

A previous Supreme Court ruling has allowed the practice of accepting barangay residence certications in the absence of a valid government ID.

In a recent report submitted to the Comelec, there are addresses in Makati provided by transferees and registrants that are either non-existent, uninhabited, or unfit for living.

Binay added that these facts alone can already be deemed as "suspicious" and be flagged for investigation. Upon checking, these said "registrants" failed to meet residency requirements as they are not actual residents of the district.

There have been reports that barangay chairmen would issue residence certificates without verifying if they are legitimate residents of the said villages.