Risa Rafols (left) and Toledo City Mayor John Henry Osmena (right) in a press conference yesterday. (CDN PHOTO/ MICHELLE JOY L. PADAYHAG)
TOLEDO City mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña wants Commission on Election (Comelec) officer Michael Angelo Sarno to be permanently transferred outside Toledo City.
Osmena said he is still suspicious of Sarno, who went inside his office last April 20, when Sarno, a lawyer, had already been temporarily transferred to the Cebu City south district.
Osmeña said that there is usually a temporary reshuffling of election officers during the election period and they return to their permanent assignments after the election period ends.
“Yes, I am planning to make a request for his (Sarno) permanent transfer, but there’s no request yet,” he told the reporters at a press conference yesterday in Cebu City.
Osmeña also wants to file charges against Comelec-7 Director Jose Nick Mendros who did not investigate Sarno’s presence at his office.
“Instead of asking (Sarno) to explain, the regional director (Comelec) filed a case against the Toledo City chief of police (Supt. Samuel Mina),” he said.
Mendros, however, denied having filed charges against Mina.
He also said it is the Comelec Central Office that decides and approves the transfer of election officers.
He also said it is Osmeña’s prerogative to file a case against him.
“That’s not a problem, he can file (case). There’s an investigation and we still have to receive the report,” he said.
Sarno could not be reached for comment
ELECTION PROTEST
Meanwhile a losing candidate for councilor, who ran under Osmeña’s Team Alagad, filed an election protest against three winning candidates last May 18 before the Comelec Central Office.
Risa Rafols filed a protest against winning candidates Arlene Espinosa Zambo (Independent), Caesar Ian Geronimo Zambo (One Cebu), and Louis Nicholas Espinosa (One Cebu) ranked 12th in the counting. There are only 10 slots in the city council.
Rafols garnered 19,324 votes, while Arlene (Zambo) got 22,888 votes and ranked seventh; Cesar Ian (Zambo) got 20,684 votes and ranked ninth while Espinosa had 20,441 and ranked tenth.
“There were seven vote counting machines that bogged down during the elections,” Rafols told the reporters.
In a separate interview, acting Toledo City Comelec Officer Gallardo Escobar admitted that seven VCMs bogged down, three were repaired and the other four were replaced by the contingency machines.
ANOMALIES
A copy of Rafols’ election protest obtained by Cebu Daily News, said that various anomalies and election violations were committed in the 75 precincts, which were the subject of the protest, apart from “massive vote-buying .”
She also alleged that the packages containing the official ballots were not duly sealed. They also allegedly discovered pre-shaded ballots.
She also alleged that there were many voters who discovered that someone else had signed for them in the Election Day Computerized Voter’s List (EDCVL), indicating that they had already voted when they in fact had not.
Rafols wants the Comelec to issue an order to the Toledo City Treasurer and election officials to safeguard the ballots and other election paraphernalia that will be used in the protest proceedings