Isabela town’s real mayor finally known

RAMON, Isabela – After nearly years of legal battle and with less than a month before the midterm elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) finally proclaimed the real winner in this town’s 2004 mayoral race.

Raymond Espidol of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats is expected to formally assume the mayoralty post here today after a Comelec-sanctioned municipal board of canvassers (MBOC) composed of Manila-based lawyers declared him the duly elected mayor of this town over the incumbent, Wilfredo Tabag.

In the re-canvassing of 41 contested election returns at the Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila the other day, Espidol came out ahead with 8,366 votes against Tabag’s 6,436 votes, or a margin of 1,930.

This was a complete reversal of the results when Tabag was proclaimed in July last year by the old MBOC led by lawyer Jerbee Cortez, city election officer of Santiago City, wherein Tabag won with 8,228 votes against Espidol’s 6,916 votes.

In January this year, the Comelec’s first division declared Tabag’s proclamation as illegal, assailing the re-canvassing conducted by the old MBOC as based on "totally spurious, grossly substituted and clearly manufactured" election returns.

In its resolution penned by Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra, the first division ordered another re-canvassing of the contested election returns by a new MBOC to determine the real winner in the 2004 mayoral race.

The Comelec en banc led by Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos affirmed the first division’s resolution last April 12.

As a result of Tabag’s protest, Espidol was ousted as mayor in July last year after losing in what the Comelec’s first division described as a "fraud-marred" recount conducted by the old MBOC.

Besides Cortez, the two other MBOC members then were lawyer Manuel Castillo and Arnold Vallejo, election officers of Echague and Ramon towns, respectively, whom the first division held responsible for the illegal proclamation of Tabag.

After the May 10, 2004 elections, the first MBOC proclaimed Espidol the duly elected mayor for obtaining 8,647 votes against Tabag’s 6,635, or a margin of 2,012.

However, the following year, a recount was conducted by the Cortez-led MBOC, paving the way for Tabag’s "illegal" proclamation.