Friday, March 30, 2007 3-way fight for Lapu-Lapu City
LAPU-LAPU City Vice Mayor Norma Patalinjug and her slate trooped to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office yesterday to file their certificates of candidacy (COC).
Sixth district Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz of Kampi and Cebu Provincial Board Member Victor Maambong accompanied the group.
Patalinjug is running for mayor against incumbent Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza. Councilor Eugene Espedido will run as Patalinjug’s vice mayor against Councilor Mario Amores, Radaza’s runningmate.
It will be a three-way fight for Lapu-Lapu’s top post after Alejandro Barnego filed his papers as an independent mayoralty candidate last Wedenesday.
After they filed their COCs yesterday, Maambong again raised his complaint against Lapu-Lapu City Election Officer Ann Janette Chua Hu-Lamban.
He said the Comelec failed to give them a copy of the statement of votes (SOV) in the previous election.
Maambong also questioned Lamban’s practice in the last canvassing of votes when she allegedly ordered all watchers to go out of the canvassing area at break time.
Lamban admitted that she failed to give Maambong a copy of the SOV as she “inadvertently” sent all copies to Manila, without retaining her office’s copy.
The SOVs show the trend of votes in each precinct, as this points to what particular place a candidate is weak or strong. Maambong said he cannot get the election returns, so he is asking for a copy of the SOVs, to know how many votes he garnered in the last election.
Lamban also said she cannot remember sending out watchers during the last canvassing. She said, though, that there was a time when lawyers from opposing camps requested for a break at dawn and they both decided to continue the canvassing the next day.
The canvassing was held at the Lapu-Lapu City session hall.
She suggested to the lawyers to allow her to sleep inside the canvass area, but they all agreed that no one will stay inside so they locked up the place. Party watchers, though, were allowed to stay outside the session hall.
Lamban said that was the only time she sent everybody out. She said she never called a recess in the middle of the canvassing and sent all watchers out.
Opposition councilors who filed their COCs yesterday included Ramon Patalinjug, Francisco Senerpida, Lorenzo Igot, Reynaldo Berdin, Michael Ouano, Norman Codilla and Charles Vailoces.
Albertino Mata, Pastor Cuenca and former congressman Efren Herrera filed their COCs last March 28. (OCP)
