Election officer ‘invited’ to police station in Toledo City

Lawyer Michael Angelo Sarno (left) at the office of Toledo City chief Supt. Samuel Mina. (Contributed photo by Gorge Panunsillo)

Lawyer Michael Angelo Sarno, the former election officer of Toledo City, was invited to the Toledo City Police Office shortly before 1 a.m. today to explain what was he doing inside the city’s Commission on Elections (Comelec) office at past midnight.

Senior Police Office 2 Benedicto Bobilles, an investigator of Toledo Police Station, said policemen were sent to the Comelec office after a concerned citizen, who identified himself as Rosseller Rafols Layan, 38, personally reported to the police that Sarno was seen inside the Comelec office way beyond office hours.

Layan claimed he saw Sarno getting “documents” from inside the Comelec office and was allegedly transporting them to his vehicle.

Bobilles said that Layan, after seeing Sarno, immediately went to the police station, which is located just a few meters across the Comelec office, to report the incident.

“Nagduda si Layan ngano naa pa siya (Sarno) access sa office nga di naman siya ang election officer. And naa pa siya’y gipahunga nga documents, padung baya elections,” said Bobilles. (Layan was wondering why Sarno still has access to the office when he is no longer the election officer. He was taking some documents… just when it is getting close to the elections)

He said policemen who responded to Layan’s report confronted Sarno and and later invited him to the office station.

Bobilles, however clarified that Sarno was not arrested.

Up to this time, however, Sarno is still at the police station waiting for the arrival of the new city election officer, identified as a certain lawyer Escobar.

“Since he (Escobar) is now holding office at the Comelec, he should be informed about the incident. And to check if his personal things were moved,” Bobilles told CDN in Cebuano.

CDN tried to reach Supt. Samuel Mina, the city police director, but was not answering calls to his cellular phone.

Bobilles said Sarno, who is still now at the office of Mina, showed the folder and envelopes containing the documents, claiming those were only papers of a case of a client he is handling.

Toledo City Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña, reached for comment, said he would not let Sarno get away with what he did.

Osmeña, who is running for reelection as an independent, told Cebu Daily News that he would meet with his legal counsel, lawyer Inocencio Dela Cerna, later today as he would want to press charges against Sarno.

“He did not do this once but he also did this the other night. He went inside the Comelec office, brought papers, loaded in his car and drove away,” Osmeña told CDN.

He said he would also ask the new city election officer today to check what were the papers that were lost inside the office.

Sarno has been reassigned to Cebu City since early this month as he was among those affected by the nationwide reshuffle of election officers that took effect on April 1, on the order of Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista.