1,172 ballot boxes still at Sasa port

Monday, October 25, 2010

A TOTAL of 1,172 ballot boxes assigned to Davao City during the May 2010 national and local elections are still at Sasa Wharf as the Commission on Election (Comelec) Central Office suspended its order for recall.

On September 6, Comelec-Davao City's officials obliged to an order to ready these ballot boxes for transport as the central office issued a memorandum on the matter after having favored a petition from former House Speaker Prospero Nograles for recount on the mayoralty race.

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Comelec election officer for District 1 Danilo Cullo said Monday the ballot boxes, which contain the ballots, were placed in 19 container vans of To Go cargo delivery.

"They were sealed and placed inside 19 container vans wherein 15 were 20 feet long and four were 24 feet long. Hanggang ngayon andoon pa yun because the central office in Manila realized they have no sufficient quarter which can hold all the 1,172 ballot boxes," Cullo said in an interview.

Cullo said they were informed to wait "for further notice" regarding the matter.

The 19 container vans, Cullo said, are charged for their use.

"Charged to the petitioner daw siya," Cullo said.

However, Cullo was not able to detail how much have been spent on the 19 container vans.

The ballot boxes, after the elections, were turned over by City Comelec Office to the City Treasurer's Office who then stored the same at their warehouse located at SIR New Matina.

In September, Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer ordered for a recount stemming from a petition from losing candidate Nograles against its opponent City Mayor Sara Duterte.

Nograles filed the election protest on May 24 citing alleged irregularities. Reportedly, the Comelec Second Division found form and substance in Nograles protest in which Ferrer ordered the ballot boxes immediately transferred to the main office for a recount.

In the mayoral contest, Duterte clobbered Nograles with a 228,240 lead, garnering 388,465 votes as against Nograles' 160,225 votes.

Mayor Duterte commenting on the matter was unfazed but could not hide her displeasure on Nograles' "charade."

"Yes, it's part of the process to transfer the ballot boxes to Manila. This charade of Boy Nograles is very expensive on my part," said Duterte, admitting that having to hire lawyers to represent her on hearing the petition in Manila has been costly.

Duterte added her concern on the matter as she would have no direct monitoring on the matter.

"We are being extra careful, basin mag "magic" siya sa ballots dinha sa Manila (he might 'magic' the ballots there in Manila)" Duterte said through text message.

In a 14-page petition filed before the poll body, Nograles alleged that massive election irregularities transpired in all 1,172 clustered precincts in this city during the May 10 elections.

He cited the questionable deployment of employees from the city mayor's office, "zombie" voters, and the reconfiguration of compact flash (CF) cards.

Nograles also accused Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of deploying 116 employees to the offices of the election officers in the first to third congressional districts.

This indicates a conspiracy to win the elections, Nograles said.

Nograles also cited the more than 40,000 "zombie" voters revealed earlier by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in the voters list of Davao.

He alleged that there are actually 16,992 dead persons in the posted computerized voters list (PCVL) whose registration records remain active.