Sanchez camp claims early victory in Soco's poll protest

CEBU, Philippines - The late Cebu vice governor Gregorio Sanchez, Jr. leads over 12,000 votes against his rival after the second division of the Commission on Elections yesterday finished the revision of the ballots retrieved from Mandaue City and Consolacion because of the election protest filed by businessman Glenn Anthony Soco.

Engineer Grecilda Sanchez Zaballero yesterday claimed that her father is leading by 12,500 votes against Soco after the revision of ballots from the protested precincts.

Zaballero said even if the Comelec denied their motion for intervention and that of the Liberal Party they still have reasons to celebrate because it was found out that her father really won in the last elections.

“The truth really came out, my dad won,” Zaballero said.

Soco said he does not know where Zaballero got her figures knowing that she was not allowed by the Comelec to intervene. He said he will leave it to his lawyers to make their next move.

“What I know is that there are more than 30,000 ballots nga walay boto sa bise gobernador ug daghan pa nga mga nangawala nga balota ug documents,” Soco said in a text message to The FREEMAN.

“Although they are entitled to their own presumptions but I’d rather nga maghuwat nalang ta sa decision sa Comelec,” Soco said.

Soco filed an election protest against Sanchez claiming to be the duly elected vice governor of Cebu in the last May 2010 elections.

He protested his 517,687 votes as against the 543,924 votes of Sanchez.

Soco described the revision proceedings to be “very revealing and encouraging.”

Earlier Soco claimed to have discovered more irregularities in the vice gubernatorial race in Cebu Province during the last elections.

He cited an incident in Mandaue City wherein seven precincts have allegedly transmitted the testing and sealing results instead of the actual votes. — (FREEMAN)