Thursday, August 16, 2007 Lanao Norte still without a lawmaker By Lino dela Cruz Iligan correspondent
* Comelec has yet to resolve controversial certificates of canvass
ILIGAN CITY-- Three months after the May 14, 2007 elections, the First District of Lanao del Norte is still without a representative because a poll controversy has yet to be resolved.
The controversy arose a few days after voting day on May 14 this year, when the padlocks of three ballot boxes containing the Certificates of Canvass (COC) from the towns of Kauswagan, Bacolod and Maigo, Lanao del Norte were foundto have been destroyed.
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) investigators confirmed the ballot boxes were tampered.
The lawyers of United Opposition congressional candidate and former Iligan City councilor Vicente Belmonte Jr. contended that there was tampering of the COCs of the three towns using correction fluid.
They asked the Commission on Election (Comelec) to set aside the canvassing of these COCs because of manifest errors and base the canvassing on other authentic copies of COCs in the possession of the National Movement for Free Election-Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (Namfrel-PPCRV) and the copy of the Liberal Party (LP).
On these authentic copies, Belmonte garnered 59,932 votes, Angelique Badelles (Kampi) got 46,600 and former Lanao del Norte governor Imelda Dimaporo (Lakas-CMD) had 43,403 votes.
Belmonte filed a petition to correct the manifest errors on the original COCs of the three towns showing Dimaporo winning in the three towns with 26,213 votes, thereby offsetting Belmonte's lead.
The Comelec directed the Special Provincial Board of Canvassers (SPBOC) to refrain from proclaiming any candidate and further directed it to bring the controversial ballot boxes containing the questioned COCs to the Comelec 2nd Division in Manila.
Dimaporo's lawyers then filed a petition with the Comelec 2nd Division for lack of jurisdiction, contending that the case at hand is a pre-proclamation case and should be resolved by the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).
But the Comelec 2nd Division granted Belmonte's petition to exclude the controversial COCs from the towns and Dimaporo's lawyers elevated the case to the Comelec en banc for resolution.
As of this date, the Comelec en banc has yet to calendar the hearing on the controversy and resolve the case.
Constituents from Iligan City and the towns of Linamon, Kauswagan, Bacolod, Maigo, Kolambugan, Tubod, Baroy in Lanao del Norte, which constitute the First Congressional District, are eagerly waiting for the Comelec en banc to resolve the controversy so that the proclamation of the winning candidate will not be delayed further.
