Tuesday, May 22, 2007 BOC puts on hold Lapu proclamation
THE Lapu-Lapu City board of canvassers (BOC) put on hold yesterday the proclamation of winning candidates after lawyers of mayoral candidate Norma Patalinghug filed a pre-proclamation protest.
Patalinghug is facing suspended Mayor Arturo Radaza, who is running for his last term, for the city’s top post. Radaza was suspended in connection with the purchase of allegedly overpriced lampposts for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.
Patalinghug’s camp protested that there was massive fraud in the elections in Lapu-Lapu City, particularly in the race for city mayor. Her lawyers filed the protest with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila.
“In view thereof, the proclamation of the winning candidates are held in abeyance until the resolution on the matter is submitted to the Commission,” the BOC said in a notice sent to all candidates yesterday.
Records
Lapu-Lapu City Election Officer Ann Janette Chua Hu-Lamban, City Prosecutor Evangeline Gicale, and Department of Education Division Superintendent Leonilo Oliva, who signed the notice, also said that “the records of the proceedings on the contested returns are elevated to the Commission for appropriate action on appeal interposed by the mayoralty candidate Norma Patalinghug.”
Romeo Igot, Pataling-hug’s lawyer, said there was fraud in the recent elections. He cited as example precinct no. 592-A, which has 198 registered voters but recorded 245 votes for mayoral candidates.
The Patalinghug camp is claiming that the number of votes cast for Lapu-Lapu city mayor exceeds the number of registered voters in the city.
Igot said in a mobile phone interview that they have five days to file their memorandum of appeal with the commission after they filed 182 verified notices of appeal last Saturday with Lamban.
In that notice of appeal, Igot stated that pursuant to Republic Act 7166 and Comelec Resolution 6669, Patalinghug’s camp wants several election returns (ER) excluded. Igot filed a total of 182 notices last Saturday for the same number of ERs to be excluded in the canvass.
Tampered results
Igot initially raised his objection with the BOC during the canvass, saying that the result in these contested ERs are “fabricated, falsified and tampered with in favor of Radaza.”
According to Igot, the signatures on the ERs were almost the same. He said they will submit these together with their memorandum of appeal and other evidence, including the ER, certificate of votes, minutes of the BOC, and minutes of the BEIs.
Igot said Lamban dismissed their petition outright and did not even bother to view their evidence. This was why, he said, he immediately had recorded in the minutes of the canvass his intention file a verified notice of appeal.
This stopped the proclamation after canvassing last Friday because the last paragraph of section 245 of the Omnibus Election Code states that, “The board of canvassers shall not proclaim a candidate as winner unless authorized by the Commission after the latter has ruled on the objections brought to it on appeal by the losing party.”
Igot said the Comelec will most likely consolidate these two items, the memorandum of appeal and pre-proclamation protest, in one hearing and decide on it. (OCP)
