Isabela’s prov’l board of canvassers resigns

ILAGAN, Isabela — Two of the three members of the provincial board of canvassers here resigned yesterday following a heated argument and a near fistfight between lawyers of gubernatorial candidates incumbent Gov. Faustino Dy Jr. and former broadcast journalist Grace Padaca, which delayed anew the canvassing of the remaining eight certificates of canvass.

Lawyer Reynaldo Doma, acting provincial election supervisor, and Dr. Benito Tumamao, schools division superintendent, both quit as members of the provincial board of canvassers, citing pressure from both camps.

Doma and Tumamao, with their police escorts, left the canvassing area yesterday morning.

The remaining member of the provincial board of canvassers, prosecutor Anthony Foz, a cousin of former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Heherson Alvarez, a known Dy ally, is reportedly also resigning anytime.

Dy’s 18 lawyers are led by former Judge Diosdado Bala, provincial administrator. Padaca’s legal team, on the other hand, is composed of 20 lawyers led by Francisco Marallag, the president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in the province.

Bala moved that the provincial board of canvassers include in the canvassing the certificate of canvass (COC) from Cordon town but was aggressively opposed by Marallag.

A shouting match ensued between the two lawyers, forcing the provincial board of canvassers to suspend the canvassing.

The Cordon COC submitted by election officer Urbano Oprecio showed that Dy garnered 12,791 votes as against Padaca’s 2,313. However, in Namfrel’s count, Dy had 5,591 votes while Padaca had 8,275.

Bala said the authenticity of the COC is unquestionable because it bore the signatures of the members Cordon’s board of canvassers namely Oprecio, municipal treasurer Rustico Bayaca and DepEd representative Luzviminda Javier.

Marallag, however, insisted that the COC was tampered with and claimed that the Namfrel’s copy is more authentic.

Padaca’s lawyers speculated that the inclusion of the Cordon’s COC might slim down their client’s lead over Dy.

Before the canvassing stopped, Padaca was leading the race with 145,954 votes against Dy’s 125,712.

Padaca described Doma and Tumamao’s resignation as "funny and disgusting" which could further delay the proceedings.

Meanwhile, Dy said he would respect whatever the result of the official and final tally of the provincial board of canvassers. But his camp asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to order the transfer of the canvassing of COC’s to Manila. They cited the highly tense situation in the provincial capitol.

At least 100 soldiers in full battle gear from the 77th Infantry Battalion have been deployed inside and outside the provincial capitol.