Comelec upbeat on poll success

CEBU, Philippines — The Commission on Elections in Cebu City is optimistic that the May 13 midterm elections will be a success amid the rift between the city police and Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

“We are confident that we can deliver results and hold successful elections,” said South District Election Officer Marchel Sarno

Osmeña has been revealing information critical to the police.

The mayor claimed that Garma was allegedly behind the various police brutality and violence in the city, including the strafing of the homes of four barangay chiefs in Malubog, Sudlon II and Sinsin.

The mayor also released a document last May 5 that indicated Garma was receiving a weekly payola of P1 million from illegal gambling, which the latter strongly denied.

Osmeña had filed charges of corruption and grave misconduct against Garma before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Garma, on the other hand, also filed a complaint against Osmeña and his running mate, Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos, before the Comelec for reportedly disregarding a police checkpoint on April 28.

She said Delos Santos’ car which was accompanied by three motorcycles and a barangay service vehicle evaded a checkpoint in Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City.

She said the lead motorcycle was flagged down by policemen, but it did not stop.

Policemen, who manned the checkpoint, went after the motorcycle but Delos Santos allegedly disembarked from her vehicle and intervened.

Minutes later, Osmeña also arrived questioning the conduct of the checkpoint.

Garma said Osmeña and Delos Santos’ actions were uncalled for, adding “it was pure harassment.”

Sarno said he already forwarded Garma’s letter to Comelec regional office for perusal. The regional office will then forward the letter to the central office to determine whether or not Cebu City needs to be placed under Comelec control.

Sarno said his office is also waiting for the mayor’s submission of election and security-related reports, which will also be submitted to the Comelec head offices.

In a separate development, 70 vote-counting machines (VCMs) for Cebu City are set to be delivered on Friday.

Sarno said they will hold the testing and sealing of VCMs on the same day.

“On May 10, we will test the machines if they function. If not, we have contingency machines to replace them,” he said. — KBQ (FREEMAN)