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Thursday, June 29, 2006
Pet to focus on Cebu, Lanao Sur votes first
Whether defeated vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda’s protest goes any further now depends on a reexamination of the 2004 election results in Cebu and Lanao del Sur.
Sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), the Supreme Court suspended yesterday the revision of ballots from Pampanga.
Instead, the tribunal will turn its attention to the results of the revision of ballots from Cebu and Lanao del Sur, as requested by both the camps of Legarda and Vice President Noli de Castro.
The provinces of Pampanga, Cebu and Lanao del Sur are the three pilot provinces where Legarda said there had been massive vote-padding.
But Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Edwin Cadungog is not bothered by the impending scrutiny of the election results from Cebu.
“No problem, that’s okay. Maayo nuon arun makita dayun. Dili ta angay makuyawan ana kay tinarong mani ato (We have no reason to worry, because we did our job honestly),” said Cadungog.
Cirse “Choy” Torralba, Central Visayas coordinator of the Legarda campaign, said the course of action decided by both camps is timely and that the tribunal “should now come up with its official findings.”
“I cannot categorically say there was cheating,” Torralba told Sun.Star Cebu by mobile phone, “because our party never had election watchers during the voting and canvassing of votes.”
He added: “But based on the findings in the recount of votes in the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, Loren Legarda’s revisors said there were fake ballots and doctored election returns in Cebu Province.”
Lawyers Romulo Macalintal and Sixto Brillantes, for de Castro and Legarda, respectively, said the results of the revision from Cebu and Lanao del Sur will be enough to determine whether Legarda’s poll protest is valid.
De Castro’s camp asked the PET last June 13 to weigh Legarda’s protest based on the recount of votes from Cebu and Lanao del Sur, in an effort to speed up the resolution of the case.
De Castro has manifested that the bulk of his 800,000-vote lead came from Cebu and that as of June 9, the revision of ballots from the province was 97 percent complete. It is expected to be terminated anytime this week.
He also noted that his lead has not been materially affected, although Legarda objected to almost 90 percent of de Castro’s ballots.
De Castro has asked the tribunal to hold a preliminary hearing, where the parties could submit all their evidence for Cebu and the recanvass returns of Lanao del Sur, and then show cause why the protest should or should not be allowed to continue. (Sunnex)/With JPM)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 29, 2006 issue)
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