NUEVA ECIJA

Nueva Ecija court orders recount of Talavera poll votes
BY LIAM ANACLETO

STO.DOMINGO , Nueva Ecija – A Regional Trial Court in this town has ordered the recount of votes in the mayoral elections in Talavera town.

Branch 89 Judge Nelson Tribiana created a three-man revision committee chaired by OIC-clerk of court Marietta Atayde to conduct revision of ballots in mayoral polls in the town won by re-elected Mayor Nerito Santos.

Santos, an ally of former three-term governor Tomas Joson III of Bagong Lakas ng Nueva Ecija (Balane), garnered 20,949 votes to win by 374 votes over comebacking former three-term mayor Manolito Fausto of the Lakas-CMD.

Santos won his first term by beating Fauto’s wife Alma in the 2004 elections.

Santos was proclaimed by the Municipal Board of Canvassers on May 18, despite the objections of Fauto’s counsels.

Santos claimed that Fausto did not file an appeal regarding his proclamation and in fact, could not show proof and notices of the appeal.

Fausto said his camp did file a protest but this was not accepted by the Commission on Elections.

Fausto later lodged an elections protest with the court, claiming massive electoral fraud and irregularities. He said material defects in numerous election returns (ERs) were detected in 111 of the town’s 286 precincts.
Santos, through his counsels Rosita DF Torres and Rodolfo Soriano, has filed a counter-protest involving 98 precincts.

Fausto, through his counsels Bener Bauto and Ricardo Atayde Jr. claimed that the errors in the tabulation of votes in the precincts level would warrant the revision of the ballots and the ERs.

Santos will present nine witnesses while Fausto four witness in the revision.

The court has laid down the ground rules for the recount, including daily revisions from Monday to Friday. It shall be conducted in the session hall under the strict supervision of the court, the revision would proceed even without a part or substitute revisor from any of the two camps provided the chairperson and one party revisor is present.