Salimbangon denies agreeing to new board of canvassers

Fourth district congressional aspirant Benhur Salimbangon denied a published report that his legal panel has agreed to the request of his rival, Celestino “Tining” Martinez III, to the Comelec for new members to the Bogo Special Board of Canvassers.

Salimbangon in his denial said, “The special board of canvassers (under chairperson Eddie Aba) is composed of people with conscience and with integrity, who have recognized at face value that the 15 election returns are clearly doctored and manufactured.”

The Martinez camp, in its petition at the Comelec second division, also asked for the declaration of the board’s proceedings, under the watch of Aba, illegal.

Lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna questioned the act of Aba for allowing the canvass of the senatorial and party-list candidates from these contested 15 ERs while excluding those for congressional candidates.

The 15 ERs, out of 196 from Bogo, are now in the Comelec central office after Aba ordered these transferred there for verification of their authenticity. This was after Salimbangon manifested that these were “manufactured.”

Without these ERs, the Comelec’s official canvass showed that Salimbangon got 67,308 votes against Martinez with 64,990 votes, for only 2,318 votes margin.

Salimbangon yesterday said that, in a worst case scenario in which the Comelec would rule out the ERs authentic and therefore be canvassed, he would still win by 163 votes against Martinez.

In the quick count of the church-based Cebu Citizens’ Involvement for the Maturation of People Empowerment and Liberation, Salimbangon led Martinez by nearly 4,000 votes. — Gregg M. Rubio/RAE