Comelec affirms raps vs. barangay captain

CEBU - The Commission on Elections affirmed the resolution of the Cebu Assistant Provincial Prosecutor against a barangay captain of Daanbantayan town for violation of the Omnibus Election Code and ordered that the appropriate information should be filed against him.

Section 192 of the Omnibus Election Code provides that it shall likewise be unlawful for any barangay official to enter and stay inside any polling place except to vote, or serving as a watcher or member of the board of election inspectors, in which case, he shall leave the polling place immediately after voting.

A five-page resolution signed by five commissioners and chairman Jose Melo affirmed resolution handed by Cebu assistant provincial prosecutor Mario Camomot for alleged violation of the Omnibus Election Code against Tinubdan barangay captain Juanito Ybañez of Daanbantayan town.

Melo and the five commissioners also ordered the Comelec law department to file the appropriate information against Ybañez for violation of Section 192 in relation to section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code.

It was Daanbantayan mayoralty candidate Augusto Corro who filed the complaint against Ybañez after alleging that on the morning of May 14, 2007, a certain Gaudiosa Manlunas, the assigned watcher for clustered precinct Nos. 153-A and 152-B in barangay Tinubdan, saw Ybañez enter the said polling precinct.

Manlunas, in her sworn statement, said Ybañez is not a voter of the said precinct.

Manlunas said Ybañez stood in front of the members of the Board of Election Inspectors for five minutes but did not do anything.

After that, Manlunas said Ybañez went to stand just outside the door of the room. Another watcher, Hilbert Monterde, took pictures of Ybañez while the latter was standing outside the room.

Camomot sent a subpoena to Ybañez but he did not file a counter-affidavit. 

The Comelec en banc said that the pieces of evidence presented by the complainants are sufficient to establish probable cause against Ybañez for violation of the Omnibus Election Code.

They also established that Ybañez is not a registered voter of the said polling precinct and a barangay official.

Being a barangay official his very act of entering and staying inside the polling precinct violated Section 192, the Comelec en banc said.— Jose P. Sollano/BRP (THE FREEMAN)