Saturday, January 20, 2007 Junie withdraws poll protest
FORMER congressman Celestino “Junie” Martinez Jr. has given up on his election protest against Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
Martinez filed a motion to withdraw the protest after receiving last Jan. 4 an order for them to make a cash deposit for the revision of ballots in the 2,764 protested and 4,221 counter-protested precincts.
“For reasons of economy, expediency and practicality, herein protestant is withdrawing his election protest considering the barely four months remaining in the term of the contested office,” read his motion to withdraw filed last Jan. 8.
Martinez ran in the three-cornered gubernatorial fight in 2004. The other candidate was then vice governor John Gregory “John-john” Osmeña.
Garcia was declared the winner after a hard-fought battle at the weeks-long canvassing of votes. She edged out Martinez by 7,529 votes with her 405,852 votes against Martinez’s 398,323 votes.
Protests
But Martinez filed election protests in some towns where Garcia won. In response, Garcia also filed counter-protests in areas where Martinez got the higher number of votes.
There are 6,985 precincts involved in the protests, and Martinez said in his motion to withdraw that it would be a “waste of resources, not to say expenses” for the Comelec First Division to make a credible revision of ballots.
He asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to terminate all proceedings and approve his motion to withdraw immediately upon receiving this and without need for argument.
The motion was signed by lawyer George Erwin Garcia, his legal counsel.
In January last year, Martinez already said his election protest against Garcia was “hopeless.” He said that until there is reorganization in the poll body, it would be useless to talk about elections because those who lost will be declared winners.
His wife, Rep. Clavel Asas-Martinez, is on her last term. She announced that they will be fielding their son, Bogo Mayor Celestino “Tining” Martinez III, to run for the vacated seat in the House.
In an interview at the Cebu International Convention Center last Jan. 14, Rep. Martinez said they have yet to decide who will run for Bogo mayor and when they will be filing their certificates of candidacy.
“Wa man mag magdali (We’re not in a hurry),” she told Sun.Star Cebu. (JPM)
