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Thursday, May 24, 2007
Poll expert in Manila to rule on Bogo returns
CEBU CITY (Updated, 4:25 p.m.) -- The questioned 15 election returns from Bogo town, Cebu, will be sent to Manila Thursday night to allow an elections expert to look into their authenticity.
The Special Board of Canvassers here decided to seek the intervention of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office following questions on the 15 election returns raised by lawyers of congressional candidate Benhur Salimbangon.
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The expert is expected to rule on the authenticity of the returns. Results from the 15 returns will finally resolve whether Bogo Mayor Celestino Martinez III or Salimbangon won the fourth district’s congressional seat.
Salimbangon’s camp earlier said the 15 returns appeared to be either manufactured or tampered. They also questioned the different quality of paper used.
Once the expert rules on the authenticity of the returns, these would be sent back to Cebu for canvassing.
The Special Board of Canvassers had hoped to finish the work by Thursday. “Hopefully, mahuman na gyud ta ugma (We hope to finish by Thursday),” said lawyer Eddie Aba, who took over as board chairman after Bohol Provincial Elections Supervisor Veronico Petalcorin collapsed Wednesday morning. Fatigue and a punishing schedule were blamed.
Outside the Comelec regional office here, supporters of Salimbangon attempted to storm Martinez’s crowd—they went around the block, evading the scrutiny of policemen and soldiers—but were intercepted before they could harm anyone.
Plastic water bottles flew between the two camps.
Senior Superintendent Mariano Natuel, ground commander of the Cebu City Police Office, described the situation around the canvassing area as “a ticking time bomb” and urged their leaders to manage them better.
Without any partial tally figures or a tally board on the results, both camps’ supporters were kept in the dark on how their candidates were doing.
Meanwhile, Salimbangon’s camp will be writing to Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal to request that the election returns being held by the election watchdog C-Cimpel be made available to the canvassers.
Salimbangon wants these figures from C-Cimpel’s copy compared with those in the official returns that they are questioning.
The board failed to canvass the 15 returns after Salimbangon questioned these forms’ authenticity.
Lawyer Bienvinedo Cerbo Jr. said the 15 appeared to be either manufactured or tampered. The others looked genuine, he added, but had entries that appeared tampered. (Sunnex with Katrina N. Tabanao of Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo.
(May 24, 2007 issue)
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