Mt Province congressional poll controversy: Prosecutor dismisses case against Comelec officers

By Francis B. Degay

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- The provincial prosecutor’s office based in this capital town dismissed Oct. 20 a case lodged by a brother of a losing congressional candidate against Paracelis town Commission on Election officers, poll watchers and two unidentified persons of the Project Management Office based in Manila.

In dismissing the case filed by Juniper Dominguez, chief prosecutor Moses Ayochok found no ground to continue with the investigation.

Sometime after the May 10 elections, Dominguez filed at the prosecutor’s office a complaint against the respondents for falsification and tampering of public documents, grave abuse of authority, fraud and incompetence particularly in precinct no. 26, sitio Maababnot, barangay Bunot, Paracelis.

The respondents were identified as: Virginia Chokowen, municipal board of canvassers chairman of Paracelis; Julia Gannisi, MBOC vice chairman; Samina Salinas, Consolidated and Canvassing System operator of MBOC Paracelis; Norlyn Bunnol, member of the board of election inspector s, Bunnot; Irene Bulaay, poll clerk; Julita Lumachay, BEI member : Joseph Abyagyoc, poll watcher for the Nationalista Party; Oliver Calunnag, poll watcher for independent candidate; Cristeta Agagon, poll watcher for Liberal party and two John Does from the project management office based at Intramuros, Manila.

The two John Does allegedly assisted Chokowen, Gannisi and Salinas on May 15 and May 16 in preparing the reconciliation report.

Based on the counter affidavits of the respondents, they claimed that the elections conducted in precinct 26 were clean, honest and orderly as there were no protest, violence nor commotion occurred as evidenced by the minutes of the BEIs.

They further said “the result of the election was tabulated by the PECOS, after which the election returns were printed, signed by members of the BEIs and some copies were distributed to concerned parties.

The same copies of these were also submitted to the MBOC of Paracelis, National Board of canvassers and the different divisions of ComElec.”

When the ComElec officers uploaded the result of the elections in the Consolidated and Canvassing System (CCS) it allegedly registered zero result.

This prompted the Comelec officers to go and bring with them the CCS laptop to the Comelec Central Office in Manila to seek assistance for the correction of alleged zero votes being generated by the CCS.

This was authorized as per Comelec resolution 8914.

Juniper is the elder brother of Jupiter Dominguez who ran and landed second for the lone position of the house of representative of Mountain Province in the recent May 10 national and local elections.