New NMYL president denies fraud in election

By Joan Capuna

ALICIA, Isabela – A female provincial board member here was elected president of the National Movement of Young Legislators in elections held in Cebu City recently, besting two male rivals from Mindanao and Panga­sinan.

The first woman from Northern Luzon elected to the post, Cecilia Claire Reyes, daughter of Vice Gov. Ramon Reyes, defeated her closest rival, Zamboanga del Norte board member Seth Frederick Jalosjos, by mere 61 votes, in tension-filled election last month.

Jalosjos and his allies alleged that the election was marred with irregularities.

Reyes, who got 400 votes compared to Jalosjos’ 339 (the third candidate, Pangasinan board member Von Mark Mendoza, had 290), however, belied the allegations, which she said were merely triggered by a nearly six-hour delay in the automated voting.

“The computerization of the election was fully agreed upon by the NMYL members. It is just a pity that three of the computers used in the voting bogged down while the election was going on, causing a delay in the voting for almost six hours,” Reyes said.

NMYL members include vice governors, vice mayors, provincial board members, Sanggunian Kabataan federation presidents, Association of Barangay Councils’ municipal federation presidents, and city and municipal councilors who are not more than 35 years old at the time of their election.