TOBOSO Mayor Richard Jaojoco said on Friday that the recount of votes in the town’s 31 precincts during the May 2013 elections has been extended by a local court for two weeks.
The manual recount, initially set from June 22 to 26, 2015, is being conducted by the Regional Trial Court Branch 59 in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental based on the petition filed by Jaojoco's opponent Luisa de la Cruz.
During the May 2013 elections, Jaojoco garnered 9,671 votes, while De la Cruz got 7,813.
De la Cruz had accused Jaojoco of employing delaying tactics despite the approval of the Supreme Court of their election protest.
De la Cruz's camp has asked the Supreme Court to use UV light in the recount to ensure the authenticity of the ballots subjected to recount.
Included in the recount aside from Jaojoco's votes are those of Vice Mayor Evello Valencia and members of the Municipal Council – all of whom are partymates of Jaojoco.
Jaojoco had earlier said their camp thinks the recount is a futile exercise because they believe in the reliability and credibility of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.