Liberal Party intervenes in Soco's electoral protest

CEBU, Philippines - The Liberal Party yesterday filed a motion to intervene in the election protest Glenn Anthony Soco filed against the late vice governor Gregorio Sanchez. Jr.

In a 16-page motion, the Liberal Party, through its director general Gladys Cruz-Sta Rita, asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow it to intervene in the protest.

“This is highly questionable. There is a grand plan behind this,” said Soco when asked for comment on this latest development.

LP is the national political party headed by President Benigno Aquino III. Sanchez was an LP official in Cebu while Soco run under the local One Cebu party.

Sanchez died last month and he was replaced by the Provincial Board member who had the highest percentage of votes, Agnes Magpale. Magpale is member of the Bakud Party which is allied with One Cebu.

LP legal counsel Doris Ramirez said the untimely demise of Sanchez rendered the LP duty bound to intervene in the pending case before the Comelec.

This way, she stated, LP can protect its legal interests as a duly registered political party and at the same time “carry out its moral duty” to its official candidates and the electorate.

She added that LP has a direct legal interest in ensuring the veracity of the copies it had secured during the May 2010 elections. The party also has legal interest to know whether such copies match the results of the ballots subject of the recount.

LP added that with Magpale’s refusal to intervene and the denial of the motion to intervene filed by Sanchez’s daughter, Grecilda Sanchez-Zaballero, there is no one defending the votes garnered by the vice governor.

The motion further stated that although Sanchez’s daughter and her representatives are allowed to observe the proceedings, they have no right to register their comments, manifestations, and objections.

LP’s motion, according to its counsel, is “very much consistent” with the Comelec’s Constitutional duty to ensure a free, orderly and honest elections.

Soco filed an election protest last May 2010, asking that he be declared as duly elected vice governor of Cebu.

Soco is protesting the results of votes cast in all the precincts in the entire province. He got 517,687 votes while Sanchez got 543,924 votes.

Soco had said that the total number of null and unaccounted vote, taken together, could materially affect the results of the elections considering that the 1,365,975 actual votes cast for the position of vice governor, as reflected in the Statement of Votes by city/municiplaity for the position of vice governor, does not tally with the total number of votes cast for him, Sanchez and other vice gubernatorial bets which is only 1,070,570. —  THE FREEMAN