Comelec urged: Reconsider decision on Abra poll protest

Comelec urged: Reconsider decision on Abra poll protest
By Mar T. Supnad

BANGUED, Abra – Two candidates for provincial board members in May, 2007 elections in this province have asked the Commission on Elections to reconsider its decision declaring their opponents as winners in the polls.

Dr. Ramon O. Dickson and Rogelio Elvena, both candidates for board member, filed a motion for reconsideration with the Comelec en banc after the Comelec’s 2nd Division issued a decision proclaiming Serafin Alzate and Patrocino Abaya as winners in the election for provincial board members.

“How come that the case was suddenly decided by the 2nd Division when it was pending and filed with the 1st Division? We were not even notified, and that no hearing was held at the 2nd Division,” Dickson and Elvena said.

They expressed surprise why the number of their votes recorded in the provincial canvass was different from the number of votes listed in the municipal canvass, saying their official votes were supported by the authenticated copies of the election returns and statement of votes obtained from the Comelec’s statistical division.

They stated in their motion for reconsideration that when their votes were transferred in the statement of votes, the numbers sharply decreased, and the votes of Alzate and Abaya increased astronomically.

They noted the dissenting opinions of Comelec Chairman Jose A.R. Melo as well as that of Commissioner Armando C. Velasco, saying “the mathematical computation by the provincial board of canvassers is incredulous and mind-boggling.”

“For the Honorable Commission en banc to close its eyes on the unquestioned, undisputed figures would certainly give premium to poll violators and fraud orchestrators and would relegate and bury the truth into the dust bin of political and electoral frauds,” stated Dickson and Elvena.

They quoted the opinion of Commissioner Velasco who said, “this is plain and simple ‘dagdag bawas,’ the evil practice which, for some reasons, the Commission seemingly cannot entirely eradicate. Now that it rears its ugly head again, the Commission must not and should not ignore or bury it under tons of misplaced condemnation for technical and procedural breach, rather the Commission must use all the weapons in its legal arsenal to finally wipe out this pernicious scheme and prosecute its plotters and perpetrators.”

The tabulation presented in the dissenting opinion of Chairman Melo and Commissioner Velasco shows that Elvena gathered 3,675 votes, Dickson had 5,393 votes, Abaya tallied 4,244 votes, and Alzate had 4, 947 votes.