Court starts hearing poll protest

THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 41 has started hearing an election protest filed by losing candidates from the town of Claveria in Misamis Oriental on Thursday.

The election protest was filed by defeated Municipal Council members led by Aldrich Alaan under the lineup of defeated mayoralty candidate Paul Douglas Calingin of the Nacionalista Party (NP) following suspicion of possible fraud.

Calingin and his party-mates were defeated by incumbent Mayor Redentor Salvaleon in the May 10 elections.

However, Calingin refused to file protests as he reportedly "accepted his fate."

Salvaleon said he welcomed the election protest filed by Calingin's party-mates against his group, saying it is their right.

"It is their right to file a protest if they think they have been cheated. There's no problem if they want the ballots to be recounted. For our part, we have not cheated," Salvaleon said in an interview over radio station RMN-dxCC.

Lawyer Carlito Ravelo, Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial election supervisor, said the presiding judge of RTC Branch 41 has already ordered the municipal treasurer of Claveria to turn over the ballot boxes to the court for the recount.

Ravelo said the number of ballot boxes to be recounted depends on the petitioner.

"It depends on the prayer of the petitioner how many ballot boxes would be recounted especially since there is a corresponding amount per ballot box," Ravelo told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.

Aside from Claveria, defeated mayoralty candidate Norbert Pagaspas of Jasaan town also filed an election protest against the winning candidate. (ALR)