Cotabato City folk protest transfer of canvassing to Manila

COTABATO CITY — Supporters of re-electionist Mayor Muslimin Sema staged a rally at the city plaza yesterday to dramatize their opposition to the order last Saturday of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) transfering the city canvassing to Manila.

Lintang Bedol, Maguindanao election supervisor, confirmed having received the order of the Comelec central office to continue the canvassing of votes for mayor and other local positions in Manila, in response to the petition of Sema’s lone rival, Estrellita Juliano.

Bedol chairs the newly constituted city board of canvassers, the third since May 10. The two previous boards disbanded due to bickerings between the Sema and Juliano camps on canvassing procedures.

The new board took over last week after the three lawyers comprising the second board packed their things and left for their respective regions after the counsels of one of the two rival camps insinuated during deliberations that they were siding with the other.

The tension triggered by misunderstandings on procedures and other technical concerns prompted the Comelec to earlier decide to transfer the city canvassing from the City Hall session hall to Camp Siongco, headquarters of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, in nearby Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.

Sema is ahead by about 3,000 votes over Juliano in the final but unofficial tally of the local chapter of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel).

Alleging irregularities, Juliano’s camp has been working for the exclusion of election returns from Sema’s bailiwicks in interior barangays from the incumbent mayor’s tally.

Sema’s lawyers, however, argued it would be impossible for Juliano to defeat Sema because the latter’s bid for a second term was backed by officials of all of the city’s 37 barangays.

In a text message to reporters, Sema said the Comelec’s decision to continue the city canvassing to Manila was a insult to the 6th ID.

Sema said there was no valid reason to transfer the canvassing since there were no threats to the safety of the canvassers inside the 6th ID headquarters.