Signature required to receive VIS will not be used in impeachment case, Comelec-12 assures

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 2 April) — The Commission on Elections in Region 12 (Comelec-12) allayed fears of some residents that their signature required to receive the Voter’s Information Sheet (VIS) will be used for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Voters wait for their turn to cast their ballots in General Santos City. MindaNews file photo by ROMMEL G. REBOLLIDO

Lawyer Jose Villanueva, Comelec-12 assistant director, said the workers commissioned by Comelec to distribute the VIS require the signature of the recipient as part of the liquidation requirements for their allowances.

“Don’t be afraid to put in your signatures. This is just to show that the voter has actually received the VIS,” he said in a radio interview.

Villanueva said each registered voter should be given a VIS by the Comelec in line with the May 12 local and national midterm elections.

Republic Act 7904, an Act Amending Section 185 of the Omnibus Election Code, required the Comelec to provide a VIS to all voters at least 30 days before an election.

Included in the VIS are the voter’s name, address, the precinct and the place the voter is registered, instructions on how to vote, and the list of candidates.

Villanueva said election offices in the region have started the distribution of the VIS last week and there are some voters who “really refused to accept them.”

“We’ve done this in the previous elections and it’s not true that this might be used for the impeachment,” he said.

The House of Representatives impeached Vice President Duterte last February after 215 members signed the impeachment complaints alleging misuse of confidential funds, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust.

The Senate, which will act as the impeachment court, earlier said it has started preparations for the trial.

Meantime, Villanueva said Comelec- 12 is currently in the final stages of the training and other preparations for the upcoming polls.

He said they already completed the training and certification of the teachers who will serve as members of the Electoral Board (EB).

The training for teachers, other Department of Education employees and personnel from the municipal and city treasurer’s offices who will serve as members of the board of canvassers is scheduled on April 10 to 11.

Villanueva said another training is slated on April 22 for the EBs who will be assigned for the inmates or persons deprived of liberty.

He said the final testing and sealing of the automated counting machines that will be used for the polls is set on May 2 to 8.

Region 12 or Soccsksargen has a total of 2,701,992 eligible voters for the May 12 elections, data from the Comelec central office showed.

The region is composed of the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and Cotabato, and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Kidapawan and Tacurong.

South Cotabato, including this city, has the highest number of eligible voters with 997,821, followed by Cotabato province with 797,609, Sultan Kudarat with 533,384, and Sarangani with 373,178. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)