The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Tracy Cabrera
CEBU CITY, Cebu — Former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama has filed an election protest over the city’s election result at the Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila, questioning the integrity of the automated system used in the recently concluded midterm polls held in the Visayas.
Based on local poll results in the province Rama came in third in the mayoral race.
In response to Rama’s allegations, Cebu City mayor-elect Nestor Archival enthused that it is the former mayor’s right to raise a complaint or a protest. But as for outgoing Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, he said it is best to accept defeat and focus on working with the new administration to be more of service to the community.
In Mandaue, the city’s former mayor Jonas Cortes also questioned an alleged suspicious glitch during the vote counting that affected purportedly the local poll results. Cortes’ legal team underscored that there were questionable situations during the tallying of election results that need clarification.
“Duha na ato gi-allege, intrinsic fraud, meaning naa sa program o software mismo nga maoy naka-cause sa irregularity sa results ug ang extrinsic fraud, ang process sa voting itself no, daghan pod to og nagkalain-laing instances nga na-cite na,” Mandaue City administrator Atty. Jamaal Calipayan pointed out in Cebuano.
Cortes’ camp has stood by their claims based on affidavits from watchers and lawyers, they said, that would support the allegations.
“Ang ato gi-kwestyon lang pod, sama sa statement ni mayor of course we need an explanation from kung kinsa ang responsible parties ini, aron ma-avoid siya in the future,” Calipayan cited.
In a statement on his official social media account, Cortes clarified that the electoral protest they filed has nothing to do with bitterness but about protecting people’s votes.
”This is not about bitterness, this is not against our opponents who were declared winners. This is about protecting your vote, our vote. Daghang panghitabo niining piniliay, gikinahanglang hatagan og atensyon,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, Cebu District District VI provincial board member Thadeo ‘Jonkie’ Ouano, who was declared winner in the mayoral race in Mandaue City, reacted to the protest by saying he has already delegated his legal team to respond to the accusations even as he said he is now focused tightly on the local governance transition and priorities leading to his assumption of office.