THE hearings of the Election Registration Board (ERB) in Taraka, Lanao del Sur is scheduled on Nov. 26 – 30, 2012.

The hearings are part of the process to cleanse the ARMM voters’ list, which was believed padded with flying voters and multiple registrants. Purging the voters’ list was the main reason a general registration was held July 9 to 18.
The ERB hearings are intended to give voters a chance to explain themselves, if the Comelec finds that they violate registration rules like enlisting in multiple precincts or being underaged.

The Regional Legislative Assembly in August proposed a resolution to use AFIS to “weed out illegal registrants” running a nationwide fingerprint match of the new list of ARMM registrants.
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Cotabato City President Noel A. Ben had earlier questioned the legality of automatically deleting the names of double and multiple registrants without first subjecting them to ERB hearings. He said automatic deletion is a violation of registrants’ procedural rights because no provision was made on the ARMM registration guidelines about automatic deletion.
ARMM elections are set for May 2013, according to Republic Act 10153 that synchronizes ARMM elections with the local and national elections. The law was approved June 30, 2011.
In a late August interview, ARMM Executive Secretary Anwar Malang expressed confidence that the 2013 elections will push through in the region.