’98 poll protest in Malabon-Navotas still undecided!

A 1998 Malabon-Navotas congressional candidate urged the Commission on Elections yesterday to decide on his poll protest against Rep. Ricky Sandoval with only four months left before the next elections.

"I hope that the Comelec could come up with a decision on the case early next month so that the people may know the truth as another election draws near," Engineer Tito Oreta said.

Oreta ran in the last election for the lone congressional seat in the Malabon-Navotas under the banner of Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) party against Ricky Sandoval of Lakas-NUCD.

Oreta said he suffered a technical setback when the local Comelec prematurely declared Sandoval the winner.

"The local Comelec proclaimed Sandoval the winner but in fact it had yet to finish doing its job," Oreta said.

He claimed that with 17 precincts left unaccounted for until now, it was untimely for the local poll body to pronounce Sandoval the winner.

According to Oreta, Sandoval is not yet the legal representative of the Malabon-Navotas people in Congress pending the Comelec national office’s decision on the case.

"I refuse to call the case an election protest because I’m not protesting against anybody," Oreta said. "What I’m appealing to the Comelec is to finish its job and come out with a ruling once and for all."

Oreta, who signified his intention of running again in the next elections, expressed disappointment that the Comelec is yet to act on his case after two years.

He said that he brought the matter to the court but it was returned to the Comelec’s turf.

Meanwhile, former Navotas Mayor Felipe del Rosario, who also expressed his plan of running again in the coming polls, scored incumbent Mayor Tobby Tiangco for the alleged "excessive and lavish budget" the local government had allotted for the construction of the new municipal building.

"Navotas is one of the poorest towns in Metro Manila, so why build a P130-million municipal hall equipped with a helipad?" he asked.

Baby Oliveros, Tiangco’s staff, however, said that it is only proper that a bigger municipal hall be built for the employees to be more productive.

She said that the destroyed municipal hall, burned at the height of the 1998 elections, was then too small for them.

Del Rosario claimed that what the Navotas residents need is a modest municipal hall with a dedicated mayor.