Sunday, December 16, 2007 HRET collects ballot boxes, keys from 4th district
THE House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) has started collecting the ballot boxes, keys, election documents and other election paraphernalia of the fourth district of Cebu.
This is in connection with the election protest that defeated congressional bet Celestino “Tining” Martinez III filed against Rep. Benhur Salimbangon.
In a letter dated Dec. 3, Tribunal Secretary Daisy Panga-Vega ordered Teofilo de Castro, ballot examiner, and Reynold Ogania, legislative staff, to collect the ballot boxes, keys, election documents and other election paraphernalia of Cebu’s fourth district.
Starting last Tuesday, de Castro and Ogania, with representatives from the camps of the Martinezes and Salimbangon, started collecting the ballot boxes from towns in mainland Cebu.
On Monday, they will go to Bantayan Island to get the ballot boxes from Sta. Fe, Bantayan and Madridejos.
The fourth district has eight towns and one city. Those in the mainland are the towns of Tabuelan, Medellin, Tabogon, San Remigio, Daanbantayan and the City of Bogo.
Off to Manila
The collected ballot boxes are stored in a container van placed at the Central School I of Bogo and watchers from both camps as well as members of the PNP guard it.
On Thursday, the ballot boxes will be shipped to Manila on board a Superferry vessel.
Last Friday, HRET representatives came to the Provincial Capitol to collect the keys from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), provincial treasurer and the provincial prosecutor.
Tining filed last July an election protest against Salimbangon after losing with a margin of 104 votes.
He wants the ballots that bear the name “Martinez” and/or “C. Martinez,” which were considered stray, counted in his favor.
During the May 14 local and national elections, an Edelito Martinez, a “habal-habal” driver, ran for congressman and was only declared a nuisance candidate on June 12, or almost a month after the elections.
For the Martinezes, Edelito’s candidacy deprived Tining of “valid genuine votes cast in his favor” because ballots containing only the name Martinez were considered stray.
Questioned results
The Martinezes are questioning the results of all the municipalities of the district: Bantayan (163 precincts), Bogo (196 precincts), Daanbantayan (185 precincts), Madridejos: (91 precincts), Medellin (106 clustered precincts), San Remigio (139 clustered precincts), Santa Fe (82 clustered precincts), Tabogon (106 clustered precincts) and Tabuelan (104 precincts).
Last July 9, Salimbangon was proclaimed winner in the congressional race for the fourth district by Comelec Manila.
The canvassing of the Bogo election returns (ERs) has become controversial after Salimbangon’s camp alleged that the ERs used were fakes.
Because of the conflict, the canvassing of the Bogo ERs was transferred to the Capitol and later to the Comelec regional office.
But the canvassing of the last 15 ERs from Bogo was moved to Manila after the special board of canvassers questioned the authenticity of the ERs.
The Comelec second division had declared the ERs “spurious and manufactured” and the copy of the Cebu-Citizens’ Involvement and Maturation in People’s Empowerment and Liberation was used in the canvassing. (MBG)
