Court ends 10-year legal row over cake

TUBOD, Lanao del Norte – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has ordered the military to deploy more troops at the provincial capitol of Lanao del Norte to secure the canvassing of election returns.

This, as lawyers of the United Opposition (UNO) filed a petition with the Comelec to transfer the canvassing to Iligan City.

In a faxed memorandum yesterday, Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer directed Lt. Col. Alvin Tiamwatt, commander of the Army’s 32nd Infantry Brigade, to assign additional troops to the provincial capitol and replace the provincial security personnel and policemen securing the area.

UNO lawyers reported to the Comelec last Sunday that ballot boxes from the towns of Kauswagan, Bacolod, and Maigo containing the certificates of canvass (COCs) were allegedly forcibly opened and their contents tampered while they were stored at the provincial legislative building.

A video camera recorded the incident, the UNO lawyers said, adding though that there was no sign of forcible entry in the room where the ballot boxes were kept.

On this basis, the UNO lawyers asked the Comelec to transfer the canvassing from the provincial capitol to the Iligan City Hall.

Supporters of Iligan City councilor Vicente Belmonte Jr., who was leading by more than 16,000 votes in the congressional race, gathered in front of the Iligan City Hall to prevent the transfer of the ballot boxes to the provincial capitol.

Based on the quick count of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) as of last Saturday, Belmonte had 58,962 votes, trailed by Angelique Badelles, with 45,670; Gov. Imelda Dimaporo, 42,596; and Leo Zaragoza, 10,137.