Taguig defers sealing of contested ballots

MANILA, Philippines - The sealing of the contested election ballots in Taguig City was deferred Thursday after the city treasurer decried the lack of consultation from the local Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Darwin Icay, spokesman of Mayor Laarni Cayetano, alleged that the Comelec “did not consult” Marianito Miranda, officer-in-charge of the city treasurer’s office, before setting the sealing schedule Thursday.

Icay explained that based on a letter sent to them by the Comelec head office this week, both the treasurer’s office and the local poll office must agree on when the proceedings should be held.

“We just wanted to protect the integrity of the ballot boxes. We are not against the sealing but they should have consulted the treasurer first,” Icay told The STAR.

Taguig election officer Felton Sadang agreed with Mariano and decided to postpone the proceedings “until a consultation meeting” is held between them.

Councilor Michelle Anne Gonzales, an ally of the Tingas, slammed the deferment as a “mere ploy to delay” the sealing of the ballot boxes.

“Their motives are questionable. It is quite ironic that they are continuously attempting to block the sealing and retrieval of these election paraphernalias, when they forcibly tried to transfer us to where the ballots are located,” Gonzales said in a statement.

The contested ballots will be sent to the Comelec national office following a request by losing mayoralty bet Dante Tinga to conduct a manual recount of the votes in the 217 out of 370 clustered precincts in the city.

Based on procedures, Comelec officials will first inspect the ballot boxes. Upon verifying that everything is in order, the ballot boxes will then be sealed, secured with a net, and transported to the Comelec warehouse in Manila for storage.

Cayetano, who trounced Tinga by a margin of only 2,420 votes, was the only one in her ticket to win in the May 10 polls.