Prosecutors’ office dismisses vote padding raps vs. teacher

The Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office has dismissed vote padding charges filed by a defeated mayoralty candidate in Daanbantayan against a public school teacher for lack of evidence.

Assistant provincial prosecutor Luis Calderon found no evidence to indict Bibiana Conde on alleged violations of the Omnibus Election Code when she allegedly filled up official ballots to favor a candidate and failed to close the ballot box in her precinct.

Conde is the chairman of the Board of Election Inspectors in the clustered precincts 134A and 144A in barangay Tapilon. Conde was accused of allegedly filling up three official ballots during the last May elections and dropping these in the ballot box that she allegedly did not lock before the voting started.

Defeated mayoralty candidate Augusto Corro filed the complaint against Conde based on the affidavits of his watcher and two supporters who allegedly saw the teacher filling up three official ballots and drop these in the ballot box.

Spouses Pablo and Analisa Monteclar alleged that they saw Conde attempting to lock the ballot box three times in the afternoon of May 14. Corro’s watcher Charissa Arribado also executed an affidavit alleging that she saw Conde locking the box only at 1 p.m. that same day.

The Monteclar couple likewise alleged that while they were at the polling precinct to cast their votes, they noticed Conde filling up three official ballots and then drop the ballots inside the ballot box. 

Conde denied the allegations claiming that one of the three padlocks was not locked because it was stuck. Conde said the padlock in question was assigned to the poll clerk.

The teacher claimed that the two other padlocks belonging to her and to the third member were already locked before the voting started and that there is no way that the ballot box can be opened without the knowledge of the other members of the board.

Conde said that it was only in the afternoon that she noticed that the third padlock was not yet locked prompting her to lock it.

As to her alleged filling up of ballots, Conde said the ballots that the couple saw her drop into the box belonged to voters who cast their votes earlier. She said she forgot to immediately place these inside the box because there were already several voters that she had to attend to.

Satisfied with Conde’s explanation, Calderon recommended for the dismissal of the case, which was also approved by provincial prosecutor Pepita Jane Petralba. — Fred P. Languido/QSB