Wednesday, January 09, 2008 Comelec summons Martinez over melee
BOGO City Mayor Celestino “Junie” Martinez Jr., Supt. Teofilo Siclot Jr. and 20 others were ordered by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Law Department to appear before the office on Jan. 15 for the preliminary investigation on the alleged snatching of ballot boxes last July.
The Comelec also told the parties to bring their witnesses and evidence.
Siclot, representing the Cebu Provincial Police Office, filed an election-related complaint against Martinez and his employees for allegedly stopping the police from retrieving the ballot boxes.
It was the Special Board of Canvassers for Bogo that ordered the retrieval.
In the midst of the chaos, Sun.Star Cebu’s chief photographer Alex Badayos was mauled as he tried to photograph the news event.
Comelec Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano will serve the summons today on Martinez and the 20 others.
The preliminary investigation was first set on Nov. 28 last year but it had to be reset, as the Comelec received the summons last Dec. 29 yet.
Last July 9, Cebu City Election Officer Marchel Sarno and Cebu Provincial Police Director Carmelo Valmoria went to Bogo to retrieve the ballot boxes containing the remaining the election returns from Bogo, to be sent to Manila for the canvassing.
But the ballot boxes were allegedly snatched by supporters of the Martinezes.
At City Hall
Among the 20 who were summoned are Bogo City Vice Mayor Santiago Sevilla and City Legal Officer Vicente Rodriguez.
Eddie Aba, chairman of the Special Board of Canvassers, had ordered Sarno and Valmoria to take custody of the election returns (ERs) from precincts 62A, 19D, 117A and 119B, which were kept at the Bogo City Hall.
But around 300 angry supporters greeted them and a stampede almost occurred as supporters snatched a ballot box from Sarno.
Martinez, on one hand, also argued with Sarno and Valmoria as they could not agree on how to enforce the order.
At least 15 of the ERs from Bogo had been declared fake by Comelec Manila. Some of the authentic copies in Bogo had to be retrieved for the canvassing.
Although the retrieval was blocked, the canvassing pushed through using the ERs from C-Cimpel and Rep. Benhur Salimbangon as eventually declared the winner, over former Bogo mayor Celestino “Tining” Martinez III, the incumbent city mayor’s son. (MBG)
