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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Comelec may move its hearing to Cebu
MANILA -- Because of the hassles of having to travel to Manila, parties to the ballot box snatching case in Bogo City moved for the transfer of the hearings to Cebu City.
Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Carmelo Valmoria and former congresswoman Clavel Martinez, who represented her husband Bogo City Mayor Celestino "Junie" Martinez Jr., manifested their intention to have the hearings held in Cebu City during Tuesday's hearing for the preliminary investigation at the Commission on Elections in Manila.
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Valmoria said that since all the parties involved are based in Cebu, they found it practical to hold the hearings in Cebu.
Clavel agreed and told hearing officer John Rex Laudiangco of the Comelec Law Department that they already submitted by mail a motion to have the venue transferred.
The Comelec Law Department also received Tuesday a fax message from Junie's counsel, Vicente Rodriguez, that they mailed their counter-affidavit with the motion for transfer last Monday.
With this, Laudiangco said that if the venue is transferred, the poll body may assign the Comelec 7 director to handle the hearings or send a representative from the Law Department to do so.
Impartial
Clavel said she did not mind if it was the regional election officer or a representative from the Law Department who would preside over the hearings, since all the evidence and documents presented during the preliminary investigation will be forwarded to the Comelec en banc.
However, Valmoria explained that they prefer for the hearing officer to come from the Law Department since one of the complainants is a subordinate of the regional election officer.
Marchel Sarno, Cebu City North District election officer, was the one who lost a ballot box to a mob of Junie's supporters at the Bogo City Hall last July 9. Sarno is one of the complainants in the case.
Valmoria said they wanted to avoid accusations that the hearing officer was favoring them.
Laudiangco then told those present that instead of having their pleadings subscribed and sworn to before the Law Department in Manila, they could have these done before the city or provincial prosecutor.
No date
Since he had yet to receive the counter-affidavits of Junie and 20 other respondents, no date was set for the next hearing.
Also present at the hearing were Superintendent Erson Digal, deputy provincial director for operations; Superintendent Teofilo Siclot, chief of the Provincial Investigation and Detective Management Branch; Senior Inspector Christopher Ruiz, counsel for the PNP; Inspector Arturo Pacifico, Bogo City police chief; Comelec officials Eddie Aba and Ian Michael Macaraya; and witnesses Alex Badayos, Sun.Star Cebu chief photographer, and reporter Mia E. Abellana.
Aba, who was then designated as chairman of the special board of canvassers, had ordered Sarno to retrieve election returns from four precincts in Bogo City.
He also issued orders for Valmoria to secure these election returns.
Tension ensued when Junie's supporters prevented them from bringing out the ballot boxes that supposedly contained the election returns.
In the process, Badayos was beaten up by some of the mayor's supporters. (MEA of Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (January 16, 2008 issue)
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