Defeated candidate wants fiscal to inhibit from poll case

Defeated Daanbantayan mayoralty candidate Augusto Corro moved for the inhibition of the assistant provincial prosecutor from the hearing in the electoral case against Vice Mayor Maria Luisa Loot, her husband, and supporters.

Corro, represented by his sister lawyer Liza Corro, filed the motion asking assistant prosecutor Luis Calderon III to inhibit from the case, alleging that the latter is biased to the respondents.

Aside from the vice mayor, the other respondents are Sr. Supt. Vicente Loot, SPO3 Jose Bebot Dupay, Riel Recla, Victor Pepito, Rogelioi Punay, Ruben Pepito, and Bibiana Conde.

Corro had accused them of violating election laws during the last May 14 elections, alleging that Sr. Supt. Loot was seen at a school in barangay Tominjao during the voting period and in the town session hall during the canvassing of votes.

He filed another case against the vice mayor and the other respondents also for violating the Omnibus Election Code, among others.

Calderon first dismissed the case against Loot, prompting Corro to protest with his insistence that there was enough evidence to pin down the respondent. Corro moved for a reconsideration but still the prosecutor rejected it.

Corro now wants Calderon to inhibit himself from the case, accusing the latter of making “sweeping and uniform rulings ...” in favor of the respondents even if evidences pointed out otherwise, and one of the respondent, Recla, even failed to file a counteraffidavit.

Corro further said that even if Calderon, in the preliminary investigation, was tasked only to determine probable cause for the filing of the case based on facts, the prosecutor allegedly used instead a different set of evidence to say that there was not enough evidence for the case to be filed.

Considering that the case was specifically given to Calderon, “even if there were others,” and that he made “sweeping personal rationalizations” for the respondents, the objectivity of Calderon is already doubtful, Corro argued.

Corro then accused Calderon of pre-judging all the cases to favor the respondents.  — Jose P. Sollano/RAE