Court upholds poll win

HILONGOS, LEYTE, Philippines — Judge Ephrem Abando of the Regional Trial Court here on Thursday upheld the electoral victory of Bato (Leyte) town Vice Mayor Luis Kuizon in an election protest filed by defeated candidate Roderick Rances.

It was probably the first election protest in the province that has been resolved, and Abando's decision stated that there was no difference in the votes between the results done by the automated voting machine on May 10 and that of the recount done by the board of revision during the court proceedings.

On allegations of harassment and fraud allegedly done by the vice mayor's supporters, the judge ruled that these were "mere allegations." On alleged massive substitution, as attested to by document examiner Supt. Darwin Morallos of the PNP Crime Lab, the judge stated that it failed to prove who benefitted from such.

"Such allegations was lacking of its applicability as to who really benefited (from) the irregularity. It has never been particularly pointed out the culprit of this wrong documentation," the RTC-Hilongos decision said. 

Rances and his lawyer were not around during the promulgation, with only Kuizon and his counsel present. The promulgation was originally set on January 17 but was postponed to Thursday, Feb. 17. 

The electoral protest was based on the results in two clustered precincts from the vote-rich Dawajon Island, which Rances insisted could affect Kuizon's slim winning margin of only 148 votes.

Rances alleged that a policeman and two military men, purportedly sympathetic to Kuizon and the barangay chairman there, harassed voters in Dawajon and resorted to "large scale substitution of voters". He further accused Kuizon of conniving with the municipal health officer who issued medical certificates to voters above 60 years old as illiterates or disabled so that they could be assisted by the vice mayor's men. Kuizon had since then denied the allegations hurled against him.

In an interview after the promulgation, Kuizon said his rival must have been very hopeful in winning at Dawajon Island because he and his group never won there in the past polls. He however said that the May 10 elections was different because the barangay officials there have shifted support to him. "Mibale man ang kapitan," he said.

Kuizon has been a three-term mayor of Bato from 2001 to 2004 before he ran for the vice-mayoralty post in the last elections with his running mate, his brother Benedicto, who was also a three-term mayor from 1992 to 2001. Benedicto, however, lost to Nathaniel Gertos for the mayoralty. 

The political history of Bato showed the Kuizons dominating the mayoralty post from 1919 to 1945.

Lawyer Emmanuel Golo, counsel for Rances, when asked if they would appeal the decision, said they would wait first for the official service of the decision before they will evaluate what to do next. "I will still have to confer with my client," he said. (FREEMAN)