THE election officer of Cagayan de Oro City has been removed from her post following the discovery of election paraphernalia and documents at the city-owned dumpsite recently, an election official said.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Northern Mindanao director Renato Magbutay said the Comelec office in Manila ordered the immediate relief of Cagayan de Oro City Election Officer Gina Luna Zayas-Sabio on Friday pending investigation.
The election paraphernalia had been found by scavengers at a sanitary landfill in Carmen, while several bundles had been found in junkshops. The recoveries include election returns, sealed compact flash cards and back up memory cards bundled in rubber bands and bore the names of the different clustered precincts in the city.
Sabio is now detailed at the Comelec provincial office in Misamis Oriental, Magbutay said.
Linda Castillo, assistant city election officer said Sabio has not showed up to the office since she arrived from Manila on Friday.
Magbutay said Misamis Oriental Election Officer Carlito Ravelo will act as concurrent election officer in Cagayan de Oro City. Ravelo has been temporarily assigned as election officer of Lanao del Norte before the May 10 polls.
Lawyer Lordino Salvaña who took over Ravelo's post in Misamis Oriental, will return to her former post in the province of Bukidnon.