Court orders transfer of ballot boxes from Cabiao town to Gapan

GAPAN CITY - A Regional Trial Court (RTC) here has ordered the transfer here of 48 ballot boxes from the municipal hall of Cabiao. The said ballot boxes are the subject of an election protest filed by Abundia Garcia against Cabiao Mayor Gloria Congco.

In an order, Gapan RTC Branch 87 Judge Victoriano Cabanos directed the municipal treasurer of Cabiao to submit to the custody of the court the 48 ballot boxes, the keys, list of voters with voting records, book of voters as well as other election paraphernalia relative to the election protest.

The order, the court said, was intended to preserve the sanctity of the votes pending resolution of the case.

Cabanos also directed the police station commander of Cabiao or his duly authorized representative to provide the necessary escort to secure the safe delivery of the ballot boxes.

Only recently, Garcia of the Lakas-Christian-Muslim Democrats (CMD) filed a petition asking the court to declare a failure of elections in the town due to alleged fraud. She sought the reopening of ballot boxes and the recounting of votes in the 182 polling precincts of the town’s 23 barangays.

The hotly contested elections in Cabiao, the hometown of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Reynaldo Wycoco, was also marred by acts of terrorism which subverted the will of the people, Garcia said.

On the contrary, Congco’s camp said the last election in Cabiao was clean, honest and orderly, saying Garcia’s allegations are false and baseless.

Congco, on her third term now as mayor, won by 1,500 votes over Garcia.