San Juan mayor denies 30,000 ‘flying voters’
Metro Manila, Philippines – San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora strongly denied claims of over 30,000 flying voters in his locality, urging a senator to show proof and seek their exclusion.
“Kung totoong merong 30,000 flying voters, anong mga pangalan nila, saan sila nakatira? Hinahamon ko siya. Hinahamon ko kayo, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, magfile kayo ng exclusion sa korte,” Zamora said in a press conference on Thursday, Nov. 21.
[Translation: If there are indeed 30,000 flying voters, what are their names, where do they live? I challenge him. I challenge you, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, to file for their exclusion in court.]
NewsWatch Plus has sought Estrada’s comment.
During Monday's Senate deliberations on the Commission on Elections' 2025 budget, Estrada flagged the significant rise in the number of registered voters in San Juan since the 2016 general elections, citing a 32.13% increase to 109,640 voters in the 2022 polls, or more than 30,000 individuals.
Estrada alleged that these were flying voters intended to secure Zamora’s election victory.
The Estrada family had long ruled San Juan until Zamora’s election in 2019.
“Gumising na po kayo sa katotohanan, hindi na po Estrada country ang San Juan… Hindi ko po kailangan ng flying voters para manalo sa San Juan (Wake up to the truth, San Juan is no longer Estrada country... I don’t need flying voters to win in San Juan),” Zamora said.
The Comelec is investigating the surge in new and transferring voter registrations in areas such as Makati City, Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija, and Cagayan de Oro. It said it cannot purge the voter list without court orders.
Poll chairman George Garcia warned of disqualification proceedings for candidates potentially involved in issuing barangay certifications to inflate voter numbers.
