ONE of the earliest electoral protests in Cebu was filed in court 11 days after the May 13, 2013 midterm elections.
Defeated mayoralty candidate Lakambini “Neneth” Reluya and her husband, Ricardo, of San Fernando, Cebu filed the protest against Mayor Antonio “Abe” Canoy and his son, vice mayor-elect Mikko, before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Cebu City last May 24.
The couple alleged that anomalies and irregularities marred the casting, counting and canvassing of votes in the town’s 50 clustered precincts.
The San Fernando Municipal Board of Canvassers declared Abe and Mikko as winners of the mayoralty and vice mayoralty elections, respectively.
Abe got 16,187 votes or only 177 votes more than Neneth Reluya’s 16,010 votes.
Mikko received 16,333 votes or 865 votes more than Nonoy Reluya’s 15,468 votes.
In their separate protests, the Reluyas alleged that electoral fraud, anomalies and irregularities occurred in all 50 clustered precincts in the southern Cebu town.
In clustered precincts 27, 28 and 29 in Barangay Panadtaran, the couple said, “goons” of the Canoys “caused so much tension in the voting area” on the eve of May 13.
Nonoy Reluya is also the village chief of Barangay Panadtaran, which is considered a bailiwick of the Reluyas.
Before the proclamation of Mikko Canoy, Nonoy Reluya said he had consistently led in the canvassing of votes.
“That’s why the protestee (Mikko Canoy), who was then very desperate already, had to engage in violence and terrorism to intimidate the Board of Election Inspectors and the Board of Canvassers,” said Reluya in his election protest.
Charged
About 11 armed men were charged before the Office of the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor with illegal gun possession and violation of the gun ban.
The Municipal Board of Canvassers “hastily” proclaimed the father and son as winners, although the results from three clustered precincts were not yet transmitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) server, the Reluyas said.
“The presence and extent of violence and intimidation toward the voters and members of the Board of Elections Inspectors committed by the protestees’ goons was not only limited to the 10 clustered precincts but all clustered precincts in San Fernando,” the protest read.
In the case of clustered precinct 42, the petitioners said, 556 valid ballots were counted.
But when the total votes from both candidates were tallied, these amounted to only 507 votes.
“Thus, there are 49 votes unaccounted for. The same goes for all protested and even the un-protested clustered precincts in the municipality,” Nonoy Reluya said.
In Neneth’s case, she said there were 710 valid ballots counted in clustered precinct 19.
But when the total votes garnered by both candidates were tallied, there were only 660 votes, or 50 votes unaccounted for.
The couple asked the court to order the recounting of ballots and re-tabulation of election returns of all 50 clustered precincts and to declare them the duly elected mayor and vice mayor of San Fernando.
The Canoys are allies of the Liberal Party, while the Reluyas belong to the Nacionalista Party-Alayon.
Lost
In the 2010 elections, Reluya lost the mayoral race after getting 14,055 votes.
Abe was declared winner after garnering 15,329 or a margin of 1,274 votes.
A few days after the 2010 elections, Reluya also lodged an election protest in court and sought a recount of the election returns from 49 clustered precincts.
Reluya had alleged “widespread anomalies” supposedly committed by Canoy and his political allies in all clustered precincts of San Fernando.
But Canoy, in his answer to the petition, asked the court to dismiss the protest and declare him the duly elected mayor of the municipality.
That 2010 election protest is pending before Judge Ramon Daomilas of the RTC Branch 11.