Comelec orders recount on June 13

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) ordered the start of the recount of the protest ballots in the election protest filed by defeated Cebu City mayoral candidate Michael Rama on June 13.

In its May 30 order, Comelec Second Division acting presiding commissioner Arthur Lim said the recount will be done at their Manila office.

The Electoral Contests Adjudication Department of Comelec formed the 10 recount committees for the recount proceedings. Rama protested his loss to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña in last year’s elections.

While no specific time frame had been mentioned, the Comelec said there will still be a technical examination of the 20 percent pilot protested precincts in the election protest after completion of the recount proceedings.

The ballot boxes from the 168 pilot protested precincts were shipped by the Comelec’s Cebu Provincial Office to Manila last month.

These pilot protested precincts include those from Barangays Guadalupe, Inayawan, Ermita, Camputhaw, Mabolo, Punta Princesa, T. Padilla, Poblacion Pardo, Sambag I, Basak San Nicolas, Basak Pardo, Bulacao and Calamba.

Rama said they received a copy of the Comelec’s order in a press conference he called yesterday afternoon at the Rajah Park Hotel.

He said he and his lawyers remain hopeful that they will receive favorable results from the election protest proceedings.

Rama also said he met with the lawyers of defeated vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos in Manila the other day.

“They have been (claiming that they were) robbed (of votes). Ours also, we’re claiming we’ve been robbed of votes,” Rama said.

He said he plans to continue collaborating and “comparing notes” with Marcos’ camp regarding their respective election protests.

Both claim that there were technical glitches in the vote-counting machines used in the 2016 elections.