Comelec dismisses poll protest vs Antipolo mayor

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections has dismissed for lack of merit the election protest filed by a defeated mayoral candidate against Antipolo City Mayor Danilo Leyble.

In his petition, former city mayor Angelito Gatlabayan asked the Comelec to nullify the decision of the City Board of Canvassers (CBOC) declaring Leyble winner in the May 10 polls due to “illegality of proceedings.”

The CBOC proclaimed Leyble as the duly elected mayor of Antipolo City for garnering 120,783 votes as against Gatlabayan’s 97,061 votes.

In his protest, Gatlabayan alleged that anomalies marred the election in the city, claiming, among other supposed irregularities, the discovery of at least 60 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines after the political exercise.

Leyble’s election lawyers, Dexter Francisco and Salvador Belaro, however, pointed out that under Comelec Resolution 8804, among the valid grounds for a petition to annul the proceedings of the CBOC are precipitate canvassing, terrorism, lack of sufficient notice to CBOC members, and improper venue.

In its decision, the Comelec’s First Division chaired by Commissioner Rene Sarmiento was not convinced that any of these circumstances was present during the canvassing of votes in the city.

“The allegation that came immediately after the elections wherein at least 60 PCOS machines, compact flash cards and BGANS were found at the residence of Smartmatic technician Felipie de Leon does not fall under any of the above-mentioned grounds for pre-proclamation controversy,” Belaro argued.

He said the Comelec ruled that the presence of the PCOS machines in De Leon’s residence is not among those provided by the rules for a pre-proclamation based on illegal proceedings to prosper.