Friday, May 18, 2007 Sitoy wins by only 605 votes By Oscar C. Pineda Sun.Star Staff Reporter With Jovy S. Taghoy
THE conflict between mayoral candidates and their supporters in Cordova town did not end after the canvassing was completed.
Mayor-elect Adelino Sitoy, who defeated incumbent Vice Mayor Danilo Sinugbuhan by 605 votes, renewed his threat to seek the disqualification of all winning candidates from his rival’s ticket.
Sitoy is the father of incumbent Mayor Arleigh Sitoy.
He was proclaimed at 8:45 last night, although earlier in the day, election officials considered postponing the proclamation until next week to wait for the tension to subside.
As most of the canvassing was moved to the Provincial Capitol, augmentation forces in the towns and cities of Cebu started to move out, except in Mandaue City and in Cordova, which remained hotly contested.
Senior Supt. Lani-o Nerez, Task Force Hope commander, told Sun.Star Cebu that since most of the municipal and city candidates in the province were proclaimed, police troops have been directed to start pulling out from their assignments.
“Sa Bogo, transfer naman sa Capitol ang canvassing. Sa Bantayan Island, okay naman (Bogo town’s canvassing has been transferred to the Capitol, and it’s now okay in Bantayan),” Nerez said. Bantayan Island was placed under the Commission on Elections’ control.
Close watch
A close watch and police visibility, however, will be sustained in Mandaue City and Cordova.
Last Wednesday, one additional platoon was sent to Cordova to help the local police secure the municipal hall, where the canvassing was held. Nerez also went to Cordova yesterday afternoon to check his men and the situation there.
Sinugbuhan’s camp has yet to file their pre-proclamation protest, in which they plan to cite the discovery of guns, cash and election paraphernalia inside Sitoy’s van.
There were hardly any signs the elections in that sixth-district town would be heated—until the eve of the polls.
Last Sunday, the police seized three guns, a grocery bag of ammunitions and P299,000 in bundles of P100 and P200 bills from a a black Starex van parked in Lapu-Lapu City.
They traced the vehicle to the incumbent Cordova mayor and his father Adelino, a retired law school dean.
‘Illegal’
Investigators have confirmed two of the guns were licensed. The 9mm pistol belonged to Romerico Sitoy (Romerico is the mayor’s second name), while the M14 is owned by SPO3 Joseph Montesclaros, a warrant officer of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
The KG 9 has no record and is believed to be unlicensed.
Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, in a certification, said that the license for Sitoy’s pistol will expire on Dec. 8, 2008, while the license for Montesclaros’ rifle will expire on Nov. 15, 2007.
Sitoy yesterday said he will have acting Provincial Election Officer Lionel Castillano disbarred for the “illegal” search in his vehicle.
But the Commission on Elections official has said the gun was seen “in plain view” through the van’s glass window, so he authorized the police to open it.
Sitoy also said he will file a quo warranto petition against winners from his rival’s party, saying they did not follow the correct procedure when they filed their certificates of candidacy. He alleged these were neither “sworn to nor subscribed.”
10 days
Sitoy referred to newly elected Councilors Didoy Suan, who earned 7,078 votes, and Victor Tago III, who earned 7,891 votes.
The two will be joining the winning councilors from Sitoy’s ticket: Manuel Pacaldo, who earned 8,347 votes; Ximgil Dino Sitoy, 7,702 votes; Roque Yburan, 7,943 votes; Rogelio Tirol, 7,111 votes; Rodrigo Sumagang, 7,096 votes; and Remegia Prochina, 6,696 votes.
Sitoy pointed to Section 73 in the Omnibus Election Code: “No person shall be eligible for any elective public office unless he files a sworn certificate of candidacy within the period fixed herein.”
Under Section 253, he added, he may file a sworn petition to disqualify, on the ground of ineligibility, within 10 days after the proclamation.
