The People’s Choice

“THE people have spoken. I respect that.”

Mayor Vicente Emano says this in television news report when asked how he takes the big blow on his political career after he loses the mayoralty bid in the city against Misamis Oriental governor Oscar Moreno in the May 13 elections.

Oro woman tops criminology exam

TOPPING the recent 2013 Criminologist Board exam never crossed Xian Hilot Gaje’s mind. She is the first woman to top from her school in this male dominated program.

Xian along with Roland Bayangan tied up in the top spot garnering a rating of 90.85 percent.

Rotational brownouts ‘man-made’

THE rotational brownouts that have been widely experienced in Mindanao because of the looming power crisis are simply man-made, a renewable energy advocate said.

Engr. David Tauli, speaker of the upcoming 2nd Mindanao Congress for Renewable Energy and Rural Electrification & Development (MinCared), said the problem is only artificial as he blamed the errors to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (Psalm).

Liberal Party-CDO sponsors thanksgiving mass

WIN or lose, all the Liberal Party (LP) candidates in Cagayan de Oro city attended the thanksgiving mass celebrated at St. Augustine Cathedral early evening Friday.

Leading the slate is LP mayor-elect Oscar Moreno who won against incumbent mayor Vicente Emano.

‘Riding-in-tandem’ strikes in CdeO anew

BARELY a week after the May 13 midterm elections, one died while two others were wounded as riding-in-tandem assailants in Cagayan de Oro struck anew in Purok 3A, Barangay Gusa, Thursday evening.

Agora police station commander Senior Inspector Evan Viñas said Julius Galon, 30, a native of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental and resident of Gusa, is the latest victim of such crime.

2 NPAs killed in Surigao Norte

TWO members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in an encounter with the soldiers Friday afternoon in the mountainous area in Barangay Cabugo village in Claver, Surigao del Norte, the military said.

In his report to the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID), Col. Ferdinand Quidilla, commanding officer of the 402nd Infantry Brigade, said the 30-minute firefight claimed the lives of two NPA rebels.

Man stabbed to death

A 51-year-old man was stabbed to death by his alleged live-in partner’s brother while on a drinking spree on a roadside in Barra, Macabalan, Cagayan de Oro Thursday afternoon.

Senior Police Officer 1 Camaloding Macmac, police investigator of Macabalan police station, identified the victim as Celso Loque, a native of Carmen, Butuan City, who sustained three stab wounds on the neck, chest and shoulder.

‘Yellow fever’ downs Jalosjos dynasty

ILIGAN CITY -- The “yellow fever” has caught on the Jalosjos clan during Monday’s midterm polls, frustrating its aggressive appetite for dynastic expansion and trimming its political empire to its motley beginnings in 2001.

As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, only one of 14 clan members managed to clinch an elective seat: Dapitan City councilor Rosalina Jalosjos–Johnson, who won as mayor.

Namfrel needs more ERs to start parallel count

THREE days after the elections, the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has yet to receive more election returns (ERs) from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to do its parallel count.

Namfrel noted a breakdown of eight precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines that resulted in slow canvassing of ERs at Comelec.

Delay in proclamation irks Misamis poll bets

WINNING candidates from Misamis Oriental especially the gubernatorial and congressional bets are getting impatient with the delay of transmission of the election returns.

As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, Misamis Oriental has not yet proclaimed the winners in the congressional and gubernatorial positions because of the glitches of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines at Gingoog City.

Poe win in Armm shows official 2004 presidential results

ILIGAN CITY -- Early results for the senatorial vote from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) appears to be an indictment of the official figures of the 2004 presidential vote that was later exposed to have been rigged favoring former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Team PNoy senatorial bet Grace Poe-Llamanzares leads the Senate race in the region with 162,128 votes, followed closely by presidential cousin Bam Aquino’s 161,927 votes.

Moreno mulls transition team

MAYOR-ELECT Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno will create a “transition team” to determine important issues and problems of Cagayan de Oro City that need immediate attention as he sits as the 28th mayor on June 30.

“First of course is the city hall, dapat usa ka city hall nga mo-function the way it is to be, a city hall that is working in the service of the people,” Moreno said.

Poor signal in Lanao Sur slows transmission of results

THE transmittal of results for the senatorial lineup from Lanao del Sur to Manila has lagged since Tuesday due to poor communications signal at the Lanao del Sur provincial gymnasium in Marawi City, poll officials said.

As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, only 30 percent of the votes from Lanao del Sur’s 39 towns have been transmitted to the computer servers for the Commission on Elections’ national canvassing of the election returns at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Iligan Comelec proclaims poll winners

ILIGAN CITY -- Iliganons have spoken.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) city board of canvassers proclaimed lone district Representative Vicente “Varf” Belmonte Jr. of Liberal Party; the newly elected Mayor Celso Regencia, a retired police city director and a former Presidential Anti-Organized Task Force (PAOCTF) officer who ran as an independent candidate; and the newly elected vice-mayor Rudy Marzo.

NPA rebels, soldiers clash anew

A CLASH between suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and the soldiers erupted anew in the vicinity of a small village in Kitaotao town in Bukidnon, Tuesday morning.

Major Leo Bongosia, Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) spokesperson in Camp Evangelista, Barangay Patag, said that about 20 armed rebels exchanged fire with soldiers belonging to the 8th Infantry Battalion based in Kitaotao.

Comelec proclaims Moreno, Rodriguez, Uy

CAGAYAN de Oro city welcomed its new mayor Oscar Moreno with the exaltation of hundreds of supporters waiting outside the City Hall Tuesday, 24 hours after the elections closed at 7 p.m. Monday.

Moreno, the incumbent Governor of Misamis Oriental, won over the city’s incumbent leader, Mayor Vicente Emano by 17,853 votes.

PCOS glitches delay proclamation in MisOr

MINOR glitches of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines in some municipalities of Misamis Oriental province have caused the delay of the proclamation of winners in the provincial candidates.

Lawyer Cirilo Nala Jr., chairman of the provincial board of canvasser (PBOC), said the automated canvassing of votes could have been finished on time and winning candidates would have been proclaimed earlier if it not for the technical problems of PCOS machines in some precincts in the municipalities of Salay, Claveria, Sugbongcogon, Manticao and Gingoog city.

Babiera accepts defeat, concedes

MISAMIS Oriental gubernatorial candidate and incumbent Vice Governor Norris Babiera conceded Tuesday afternoon after his opponent Rep. Yevgeny Vincente “Bambi” Emano of the province’s second district was leading in votes by more than 10,000 as of 11:05 a.m. on Tuesday.

Emano garnered 122,926 votes against Babiera’s 112,328 votes, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Tension grips Lanao Sur canvassing

MARAWI CITY -- Entrenched habits in electoral politics are really hard to break.

On Monday evening, as political camps knew of their fates through precinct-level counts, gun shots rung in the air, breaking the serenity of this city’s cold night and threatened the gains of Monday’s exercise, the most peaceful poll conduct in the province since 1987.

Namfrel notes zero election-related violence

THE National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) cited the zero-election related violence for the prevailing peace in the conduct of Monday’s electoral process.

Nestor Banuag, Namfrel CDO-Misamis Oriental chair, credited the peace to the open communication between Namfrel and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which treated each other as allies in an effort to sustain safe and honest elections.

Police, army continues to secure poll canvassing

CAGAYAN de Oro Police chief Senior Supt. Graciano Mijares said there were no major incidents during the election day.

“Except on the minor concerns on the PCOS (precinct count optical scan) machines, there were no major incidents reported until now,” Mijares told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro in an interview on Tuesday.

Team Oca supporters jubilant, vigilant

THOUSANDS of “Team Oca” supporters, mostly survivors of the Typhoon Sendong, trooped to the city hall early Tuesday morning as Board of Election Canvassers decided to suspend the counting of election returns (ERs) due to the slow result transmission.

Police Senior Inspector Henry Cay-as, chief of Divisoria police station, said some 80 police personnel from the Regional Public Safety Battalion, City Public Safety and Field Training Program were reinforced to maintain peace and order in the area where the supporters of both mayoralty candidates’ converged.

Oca leads city, Bambi in MisOr

AS of 12:52 a.m. Tuesday, mayoralty bet Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno is leading the race against incumbent Mayor Vicente Emano with Moreno’s 69,839 votes over Emano’s 57,783. Moreno has been edging by 12, 066 votes.

Results are partial unofficial sourced from transparency server of the Commission of Elections through online media websites.

PCOS breakdowns delay voting

A “WIDESPREAD” malfunction of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines has delayed the first hour of voting in various polling precincts in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental during Monday’s elections.                 Nestor Banuag Jr., National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) provincial coordinator for Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental chapter, was apprehensive that delays of voting due to malfunctioning PCOS machines could disenfranchise many voters who were impatient to cast their votes.

Police: Peaceful elections in NorMin

AUTHORITIES in Northern Mindanao assessed Monday’s peace and order as generally peaceful during the conduct of 2013 automated mid-term elections in the region.

But Police Regional Office (PRO 10) spokesperson Supt. Ronnie Francis Cariaga clarified that the final assessment on the peace and order situation during the election can be done few days after the election period.

2.2% PCOS breakdown rate recorded

THE National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) provincial headquarter together with Clean-CDO, Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo), and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) noted a 2.2 percent or eight breakdown rate of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

1 killed, 23 hurt in Lanao Sur polls

MARAWI CITY -- One person was killed and at least 23 others were injured in what turned out to be the most peaceful conduct of the elections in Lanao del Sur province since 1987.

The lone casualty was identified as Imo Montañer who was sprayed with bullets a few blocks from the polling center on his way home after voting in Barangay Mable of Malabang town around 2 p.m.

Power outage on election day ‘unlikely’

THE Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company (Cepalco) assured that enough supply of power is guaranteed to avoid outage that might hamper the casting, counting, and transmitting of elections results today, Monday.

Ralph Paguio, vice president of Cepalco, said the Mindanao Energy Systems Inc. (Minergy), an independent power producer, is ready to provide power supply in case a shortage may arise today until the end of the elections.

Comelec distributes official ballot boxes

THE distribution of the 360 official ballot boxes in the city’s 360 clustered precincts in 61 polling centers concluded Sunday afternoon, the Commission on Election (Comelec) said.

The distribution was divided into nine school districts with the 13 remotest barangays getting the first batch of delivery.

Groups hope calm in Lanao Sur ‘not a prelude to storm’

MARAWI CITY -- Electoral reform activists, poll watchdogs, and authorities are hoping the unusual calm in Lanao del Sur a day before Monday’s midterm elections is not a prelude to a storm.

As of 4 p.m. Sunday, the Citizens Coalition for Electoral Reforms in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (C-Care) hasn’t monitored any poll-related incident save for an instance in Masiu town where supporters of a mayoral bet tried to bar the transport of PCOS machines into one village.