Official Winners! Zamboanga City Election 2004.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Comelec proclaims Lobregat, Fabian, Climaco new city officials Friday
By Cheng Ordoņez
MAYOR Celso Lorenzo Lobregat emotionally received the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) proclamation of his victory in the mayoralty race, along with the
proclamation of Congressman Erico Basilio Fabian and Vice Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco at 10:00 p.m. Friday, at the City Coliseum, Tetuan, Zamboanga City.
With a cracked voice and teary eyes, Lobregat thanked God and two mothers--her mother, the late mayor Maria Clara Lobregat whom he succeeded as local chief executive of the city, and Mother Mary, the patron saint of Zamboanga City.
The proclamation pushed through despite protests from Lakas and Independent Parties
through counsels former mayor Vitaliano Agan and Manuelito Luna, and Dorothy Cajayon.
Political observers said the proclamation Friday night eased brewing tension due to protests and hurling of accusations among the political rivals of the May 10 elections.
Lobregat expressed gratitude for the support of his party-mates, friends and relatives.
Vicente Solis, chief legal counsel of Lobregat's LDP Party, earlier said the City's Board of Canvassers (BOC), chaired by Flores, is expected to finish the canvassing of election returns at
the earliest possible time since about 1,701 polling precincts have already been accounted for out of the total 1,828 precincts in the city.
Solis compared the City's BOCs with Namfrel that already completed its counts Saturday.
Solis said BOCs are examining minor details, like the requirement for teachers to explain why the exact number of the precincts was not reflected.
Solis also said ballot boxes have been duly opened before party representatives, including their lawyers.
"What is actually left now is the explanation
by the BEIs (Board of Election Inspectors) why certain data are missing and we are confident that their explanations will be reasonable," Solis added.
But in a separate interview, independent vice mayoral aspirant Jaime Cabato of the Le Peng Wee camp, disagreed as he vowed never to concede victory to anyone, claiming massive frauds were committed in the elections.
"I maybe accepting defeat at a proper time, but I'll not concede victory to anyone, because I know they do not deserve that victory, as that victory was earned through frauds,"
Cabato said.
Cabato said evidences collated by their group were likened to a rosary as he said he has a list of the alleged frauds in his hands.
Cabato cited one of their accusations to the LDP's putting up of their headquarters inside the coliseum, where the canvassing took place, "on the very day the counting started and that is a blatant violation of the Comelec resolution," Cabato said.
Cabato based his accusations to Comelec Resolution 266, which states, "No headquarters among the parties may be established near the polling
place especially the Board of Canvassers."
Solis, however, explained that for transparency, party poll-watchers are authorized to keep watch on the ballots of their candidates for 24 hours.
Cabato revealed that there were teachers serving as BEIs who executed affidavits, admitting defects they committed during the canvassing of votes.
"Everything is documented and presented to the Comelec en-banc in Manila. It now depends on them. If they want clean election, they should stop the proclamation and check the irregularities so that
the next elections will be clean," Cabato said.
Cabato said if the Comelec en-banc will exercise its authority with prudence and fairness, it can rightfully stop the proclamation of the winning candidates.
The Comelec en-banc is looking into the petition for reconsideration raised by Cabato's camp to stop the canvassing of the election returns, claiming they have unmasked massive cheating in the May 10 polls.
But Solis said party representatives have described the proceedings in the canvassing of the election returns inside the
City Coliseum as being conducted with integrity and with speed and circumspect.
"As all parties concerned have witnessed how she (Flores) has conducted herself in so far as the proceedings are concerned, she is very neutral and fair," Solis described Flores as the chair of the BOC.
Solis added that the other party's major plea to oust Flores from the chairmanship of the BOC, which Cabato's camp elevated to Comelec Manila, is a "dead issue."
Solis insisted several times that in order to chair the BOC, one must be a lawyer, and
because neither of the two city election officers are lawyers, the Comelec Regional Director herself, being a lawyer, was directed by her Comelec superior in Manila to assume the post.
As to the recent appointment dated May 4 of Flores' Assistant Regional Director Renato Magbutay as chairman of the BOC, Solis explained that Magbutay's earlier designation was superceded by a new order appointing Flores to chair the BOC in the city and assigning Magbutay as chair of the BOC in the ARMM Region.
"There is a subsequent order designating the
regional director as the chairman of the Board of Canvassers. The director of the Comelec would not have assumed that position had she not been in receipt of a written directive in due time. Let us go on with the substance, the BOC has been duly constituted with Flores as its duly designated chairman," Solis said.
With only more than 200 polling precincts to be canvassed, the LDP candidates are overwhelmingly winning in the polls.
The nine winning Council aspirants of LDP and three from the Independent party of Wee are expected to be
proclaimed next week. (With a report from Jun Feliciano)
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