Taguig mayor welcomes Comelec review of poll protest

MANILA, Philippines -  The camp of Taguig City mayor Laarni Cayetano welcomed yesterday a decision of the Commission on Election (Comelec) first division to review an electoral protest filed by defeated mayoralty candidate Dante Tinga.

In a statement, Cayetano’s spokesman Darwin Icay assured the poll body of the mayor’s full cooperation “to all legal processes surrounding the protest” of Tinga, who claimed there was fraud in the mayoral race.

“She will submit to the jurisdiction of the Comelec. In the same manner, her rights must likewise be protected, and this means giving her the opportunity to seek out all legal remedies under the law,” Icay said.

He added that they “believe there can be mechanisms to safeguard the ballot boxes by all parties concerned, including the Comelec, without having to resort to the lax security and fraud-prone Comelec warehouse.”

On Saturday, Comelec first division chief Rene Sarmiento said he has ordered a review of a second division order to retrieve the contested ballots from the city treasurer of Taguig.

The second division initially handled Tinga’s case but it was transferred to Sarmiento’s division after Cayetano’s husband, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, questioned the neutrality of the division and Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes. 

Brillantes was Tinga’s lawyer before his appointment to the poll body.