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Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Lawmaker calls for 'people power'
By Ben O. Tesiorna and Carlo P. Mallo
DAVAO CITY -- Davao del Sur Representative Douglas Ra Cagas called on his supporters Monday to barricade the Davao del Sur provincial capitol and prevent the submission of the election returns from the Municipality of Malita.
This, after Cagas learned that the Malita returns has whittled down the advantage he was enjoying, putting Representative Claude Bautista, who is running against him for the gubernatorial post, in the lead.
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In a telephone interview, Cagas said he called for the "people power" right after learning that he lost his lead in the Bautista bailiwick.
"Sige gihapon ang tikas sa board of canvassers sa Malita. Nanawagan nako ug people power karon dayon sa Malita ug tibuok probinsya (Cheating is being done by the board of canvassers in Malita that's why I'm calling for a 'people power' right away in Malita and the whole province)," Cagas said.
Cagas said he was enjoying a 12,993 margin over Bautista for a total of 156,002 votes province-wide as against Bautista's 143,009.
But he said, "dagdag-bawas" in Malita padded some 15,000 votes in favor of Bautista, and thus his opponent is set to win the election by some 2,000-vote margin.
The congressman appealed to his supporters to bring with them food and water as he anticipates that their protest will take some time to be resolved.
"Thousands of people are now here, more are coming. We are asking for food and water because we intend to stay here until kingdom comes," Cagas said over the phone, a claim disputed by provincial information officer Marivic Jubac.
Jubac told Sun.Star that there were only a little over 100 people who trooped to the provincial capitol after Cagas's call for "people power."
He said Cagas should not be whining over his loss in Malita since the town is a known bailiwick of the Bautistas, it being their hometown.
The provincial election officer in Davao del Sur also said counting in the provincial level is still not over since there are still four towns that have not submitted their election returns to the Comelec province.
Malita is the second biggest municipality in Davao del Sur in terms of population, accounting for 13.18 percent of the province's population in the 2000 census. Highest is Digos with 16.5 percent. At third is Sta. Cruz with 8.87 percent of the population. Padada and Sarangani had the smallest population with 3.18 percent and 2.42 percent of the total population, respectively. Davao del Sur has 15 municipalities.
Comelec-Southern Mindanao spokesperson Melcar Unso said a 15,000 lead in Malita is not surprising as there are actually 62,938 registered voters in the municipality.
According to Unso, if there is such a discrepancy on the statistical data of the certificates of canvass, then the legal counsel of the candidates can file appropriate protests with the chairman of the Board of Canvassers.
Unso added that the Board of Canvassers in Malita finished canvassing at about 11:30 a.m. Monday.
Moreover, Unso said, the certificate of canvass from Malita might take a little while before it is transported to the provincial canvassing in Digos City.
Unso said there are still numerous documents that the Board of Canvassers has to comply before they can actually submit their certificate of canvass.
He asserted that the large number of the voting population of Malita is one of the reasons that the Board of Canvassers cannot proclaim yet the winner for the gubernatorial race in the province.
He said the sizable number can still alter the hotly contested outcome of the polls in the area.
Riot police have already been sent to the provincial capitol to control the crowd, as Cagas vowed there will be bloodshed if the Malita election returns are brought in for the provincial canvassing. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (May 22, 2007 issue)
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