Soco's poll protest against late Vice Gov to go on

CEBU, Philippines -The election protest filed by Cebu gubernatorial candidate Glenn Soco against the late vice governor Greg Sanchez, who died last Friday, shall proceed.

Sanchez’s lawyer Oliveros Kintanar said if Soco wins the protest, the latter will be the vice governor but if he does not, then acting vice governor and Provincial Board Member Agnes Magpale will replace the deceased vice governor.

It can be recalled that Soco filed an election protest against Sanchez before the Commission on Elections last May 20 on grounds of massive fraud and immense irregularities in the conduct of the election.

Soco prayed in his 13-page petition to be declared the winner and duly elected vice governor of Cebu.

Soco also prayed for the annulment of the proclamation of Sanchez as vice governor and to 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 turn over the position.

Soco only got 517,687 votes to Sanchez’s 543,924 votes. Cebu has a total of 10,923 established precincts which were clustered and reduced to 2,276 precincts to accommodate 1,703,829 voters.

Soco said 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.

Soco further said 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.— (FREEMAN)