Wednesday, May 30, 2007 Daanbayan mayoral bet files protest
DEFEATED mayoral aspirant Augusto Corro of Daanbantayan town wants a recount of the municipality’s votes that gave Mayor-elect Sun Shimura a winning margin of more than 2,000 votes.
Corro cited a long list of alleged election irregularities and fraud: “dagdag-bawas, synchronized terrorism, ballot stuffing or switching, illegal canvassing, disenfranchisement of voters, substitute voting, unlawful electioneering, criminal vote-buying and bribery of public officials.”
After hearing these allegations, Shimura is also keen on filing a civil suit for damages against Corro.
Corro received 13,706 votes in 286 precincts and 185 clustered precincts, compared to Shimura’s 15,800 votes. The 24-year-old Shimura was proclaimed three days after the elections.
Corro alleged, however, that the Board of Canvassers failed to present a certificate of votes because of the “hasty canvassing and proclamation.”
Outnumbered?
“During the casting and counting of ballots, (Shimura)— through his leaders, followers and with the assistance of armed goons and bodyguards, and barangay tanods and even through the local policemen who are subordinates of PNP Supt. Vicente Loot—stayed within the premises of the voting centers,” Corro alleged.
Loot is Shimura’s stepfather.
“This was the situation in all the different polling precincts in all voting centers of all barangays in the whole Municipality of Daanbantayan,” Corro further stated.
He accused the Loots of resorting to “coercion, intimidation and threats” against election inspectors, watchers and lawyers of his camp.
But Shimura denied this, saying, “How can that be, when we only had two watchers against their eight to 12 watchers?”
Corro also claimed vote-padding and vote-shaving took place. Schemes like misreading the votes for Corro to make them stray votes or mis-tallying the votes to favor Shimura were allegedly employed.
Counter-suit
As for terrorism, the mayoral candidate revealed, “on the night before the election or on the election day itself, goons, firearm-carrying civilians with no license as well as local policemen inferior and subordinates of Loot sowed fear and terror.”
For dragging the name of his stepfather into the allegations, Shimura’s camp intends to file a P5-million damage suit against Corro.
“Wala man nag-apil-apil akong dad (My dad kept his hands off),” Shimura told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
Incumbent Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot also intends to file a P2-million damage suit against the Corro camp, said Shimura. His mother was recently elected vice mayor.
The mayor-elect also denied allegations of ballot-switching, saying that was impossible since the Corro camp placed plastic seals on the ballot boxes to ensure that there will be no switching of ballot boxes.
“Flying voters were able to cast votes in place of the duly registered and legitimate voters, or in place of absent or deceased voters,” read Corro’s 17-page election protest.
He asked the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Bogo to direct the election officer and the municipal treasurer of Daanbantayan to take the necessary precautionary measures in safeguarding the contested ballot boxes.
Corro’s camp also asked for a recount of the ballots and P500,000 in damages.
Shimura said they are already preparing their counter-affidavit, as well as their civil suits against the Corro camp. (JGA)
