Wednesday, April 30, 2008
In your dreams, Salimbangon tells Clavel on Tining protest
LET them dream, that’s how Cebu 4th district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon answered the Martinezes, his fiercest political rivals.
Former congresswoman Clavel Asas-Martinez said the other day that her son, Celestino “Tining” Martinez III, will soon be in Congress.
Tining ran for the districts House seat against Salimbangon in the last elections but lost. Tining, however, filed an election protest before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).
Salimbangon said the protest will be resolved soon. But, he said, his own election protest is yet to be tackled.
“I hope it will finally be over,” Salimbangon told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
Clavel had said she is not returning to Congress to concentrate on her family’s business.
Tining claims he has a lead of over 3,000 votes against Salimbangon with the revision of the contested ballots in the fourth district.
With a recount of “stray” ballots, the lead would even increase to 15,000, added Tining.
Nuisance candidate
An Edilito Martinez, a motorcycle-for-hire driver, ran for representative of the fourth district during the last elections and because of his candidacy, ballots that only contained the name Martinez for congressman were declared stray. He has since been declared a nuisance candidate.
Salimbangon, though, said his lawyers have noted the claims of Tining’s camp. He is confident that he will serve a full term in Congress.
Salimbangon said he is also looking forward to presenting his case when the HRET tackles his own election protest soon. He filed a counter electoral protest in a bid to have all the ballot boxes in the fourth district opened.
Winning by only 104 votes, Salimbangon said he wants to preempt the possibility that HRET will stop the recounting after this margin will be offset and declare Tining as the winner.
Salimbangon said that if there were no cheating, his margin would have been more than 4,000 votes over Tining, based on records that they got from Cebu-Citizens’ Involvement and Maturation in People’s Empowerment and Liberation, an electoral watchdog. (JGA)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 30, 2008 issue)
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