Greg no-show in Comelec conference

CEBU, Philippines - The Commission on Elections Second Division has declared Cebu Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, Jr. “in default” after he failed to show up in yesterday’s preliminary conference and for his failure to submit his preliminary conference brief in an election protest filed by defeated vice gubernatorial candidate Glenn Soco.

Soco’s legal counsel, Beulah Coeli Fiel in an interview with The FREEMAN, said that Sanchez and his legal counsel did not appear during the said conference.

“We will be presenting our own evidences ex-parte since he (Sanchez) was declared in default,” said Fiel, a cousin of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia, the runningmate of Soco during the May 10 elections.

Fiel said that Sanchez received the summon to appear last July 8, which means the vice governor has 21 days to prepare before the scheduled hearing.

The FREEMAN tried to get the reaction of Sanchez but was not available as of press time.

It can be recalled that Soco filed an election protest against Sanchez before the Comelec last May 20, 2010 on the ground of massive fraud and immense irregularities in the conduct of the elections.

Likewise, Soco, in his 13-page petition, is praying to the Comelec to declare him as the winner and duly-elected vice governor of Cebu province and annul the proclamation of Sanchez as the vice governor and direct the latter to immediately vacate the position and to cease and desist from discharging the duties and functions of the office and from collecting the compensation and other emoluments and to peaceably turnover the position.

Soco is protesting the result of votes cast for the position of vice governor in all the precincts in the entire province. He got 517,687 votes as opposed to Sanchez’s 543,924 votes.

Soco cited that he was able to unearth documentary evidence and testimonials of facts and circumstances that solidly prove the paradox of an “infallible automated elections system” particularly in Cebu province.

He added that the results of the elections in the Province of Cebu had been pre-determined by a significant defect in the system or possible manipulation of the AES and that he result of the automated elections in the province of Cebu did not reflect the true will of the electorate on account of massive fraud, if not immense irregularities in the conduct thereof.

The petition further reads that the total number of null and/or unaccounted vote, taken together, could materially affect the results of the elections considering that the 1,365,975 actual votes cast for the position of vice governor, as reflected in the Statement of Votes by city/municipality for the position of vice governor does not tally with the total number of votes cast for him, Sanchez and other vice gubernatorial bet which is only 1,070,570. — THE FREEMAN