CABUGAO, Ilocos Sur – After seven months, the regional trial court here finally affirmed the victory of this town’s mayor and vice mayor in the tightly contested elections last May 14.
The court acted on the separate electoral protests filed against Mayor Diocaesar Suero and Vice Mayor Rex Augustus Morales by rival candidates Amelia Amparo Sunio-Abarquez and Edgardo Cobangbang Jr., respectively.
In decisions last Dec. 21, Judge Francisco Quilala of Cabugao RTC Branch 24 dismissed both poll protests and declared Suero and Morales the duly elected winners.
Quilala said Suero won by a plurality of 1,885 votes over Abarquez, while Morales defeated Cobangbang by a plurality of 116 votes.
Suero, according to the judge, earned a total of 9,084 votes against Abarquez’s 7,199, while Morales got a total of 8,122 votes against Cobangbang’s 8,006.
The municipal board of canvassers credited Suero with 9,380 votes or 2,061 more than Abarquez’s 7,319 votes in the mayoral race, while Morales earned 8,362 votes or 217 more than Cobangbang’s 8,145 votes in the vice mayoral race.
With the court’s decision, Suero called on his rivals to be open to reconciliation for the “peace and progress” of their town.