Wednesday, April 04, 2007 Petitions filed to disqualify Gabby, Tingting and Salimbangon By Jeanette P. Malinao Sun.Star Staff Reporter
GABRIEL Leyson, the Cebu City councilor who is running for mayor of Talisay City this May, has three separate petitions for disqualification to attend to because of his “unfinished, unoccupied and inhabitable” house in Lagtang, Talisay.
Congressional aspirants Vicente de la Serna and Benhur Salimbangon are also facing the same petition, which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) received yesterday, the last day for filing such petitions.
The poll office will be hearing similar formal requests against Edilito Martinez, a congressional aspirant in the fourth district, a councilor in Aloguinsan town, two vice mayoral candidates in Borbon town, and a candidate for mayor in San Fernando town.
Leyson’s trio
Businessman Salvador dela Fuente, an independent candidate for mayor in Madridejos (and not backed by the Martinez family as earlier reported), was the first to file his petition for disqualification against two other candidates bearing the same nickname as his.
He has also asked the Police Regional Office for police escorts in his campaign, saying he received death threats last April 2 and 3.
The nine persons who filed the three separate petitions against Leyson include a balut/barbecue vendor, a lawyer and a barangay captain.
Leyson, in response, said the allegations are mere repetitions of an issue that the Comelec has already ruled on.
“My registration was approved by the Comelec itself. We are now perceived to be winning, that’s why. It’s easy to defend because I’m a taxpayer in Talisay. They gave me a hard time when I was getting permits last year, but I am renting a place. That’s a nuisance petition,” he said.
Leonides Obejero, a barbecue and balut vendor, had Provincial Board Member Victor Maambong as counsel when he filed the petition against Leyson.
“It’s not about fear of his political machinery, but a legal right to be represented by people residing in one’s own locality… They might be represented by somebody who does not know them and their interests,” said Maambong.
Other petitioners against Leyson are Lagtang Barangay Captain Celiano Cabuenas, Loreto Obrero, lawyer Vicente Fortuno, Mario Mascarinas, Orlando Rabaya Jr., Nelson Cabanes, Ruel Racaza and Sylvia Amgos.
Show yourself
Former Cebu governor de la Serna, for his part, is facing questions on his voters’ registration that petitioner Dennis Manatad said was deactivated because of dela Serna’s failure to vote in the last elections.
“Kinsa man na siya? Kinsay nagpaluyo niya ug unsay katuyu-an sa nagpaluyo niya? Di gustog kontra? I don’t know the person nga ni-file ana pero unsa mana siya, nagpadas tama o nagpadas kwarta (Who is he? Who is behind him and what is he up to? Does the person not want to be contested?),” de la Serna said when sought for comment.
De la Serna is facing Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz and Provincial Board Member Luigi Quisumbing for the sixth district elections.
He said those behind the petition against him should be honest enough to come out in the open rather than “hide behind an inconsequential person” who might bear the brunt of his supporters’ wrath.
“Sometimes politics is emotional so for the one behind this, ipakita imung nawng ug kalag. Ug daku kag negosyo ipakita imong anino ug timbang (Show me who you are),” he added.
Residence
In the fourth district, Bogo Mayor Celestino “Tining” Martinez III has asked the Comelec to cancel the certificates of candidacy of his two opponents for the congressional seat to be vacated by his mother, Rep. Clavel Martinez.
Martinez said Benhur Salimbangon is not qualified to run and could not register himself as a voter in Agujo, Daanbantayan because he does not have property there.
The property in Agujo, said Martinez, belongs to Salimbangon’s sister and does not even have an existing structure so it could not be claimed as a residence.
Salimbangon, when told of the petition, said, “Wa pa siguro sila kasud didto basin naa ra silas gawas nanglili. Ingna sila ug gusto silang Tining mutan-aw, ipatawag lang ko kay kuyugan nako sila (Perhaps they have yet to see what’s inside. Tell them if Tining wants to see it, just call me and I’ll show them in).”
Tining wants opponent Edilito Martinez disqualified. He said Edilito is a habal-habal driver with no properties in Barangay Tambongon and is not affiliated with a political party so he could not sustain a campaign. Edilito’s candidacy, therefore, was filed just to cause confusion.
Single?
In Borbon, Romulo “Molong” Mondigo filed a petition to declare as nuisance his fellow candidates for vice mayor, Romulo “Molong” Rosales and Antolin Mondigo Sr.
Romulo Mondigo accused the two of wanting to make a mockery of the election because they are not capable of waging a campaign.
The southern town of San Fernando, meanwhile, sees mayoral candidate Renee Canoy seeking to declare as nuisance and disqualify from the race Edilberto Canoy.
In Aloguinsan, five candidates for councilor want to disqualify Marilou Ripdos from the contest because she placed “single” as her civil status in her certificate of candidacy. They showed what they said was her marriage certificate.
