BANGUED, Abra – Claiming he was robbed of his victory, defeated congressional candidate Vicente Valera vowed to file a motion for reconsideration with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against the proclamation of his rival, Cecilia Luna.
Valera, the former governor, claimed that the proclamation of Luna, former mayor of Lagayan town, was null and void since 2,000 votes were allegedly deliberately added in her summary of statement of votes.
“This thwarted the will of the people,” said Valera, a lawyer, who vowed to elevate his protest even before the Supreme Court.
Based on the Comelec tally, Luna got 34,103 votes against Valera’s 33,493, or a margin of only 610 votes.
Valera, however, claimed that he won by 1,390 votes.
The Comelec’s second division earlier denied Valera’s petition for lack of merit.