Duterte wins poll recount

Manila, Philippines - The Commission on Elections yesterday reported that Davao Mayor Zara Duterte won over former House Speaker Prospero Nograles in the recount of votes in the city.

Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle said that with the results of the recount, Nograles is likely to withdraw the electoral protest against the incumbent Davao mayor.

Tagle said until after the recount, Nograles gained no significant additional votes.

“I was told by our revisors of the revising committee that there’s no significant recovery,” Tagle said.

Although the commission already completed the recount, Tagle said, the case is still not considered officially resolved.

“We won’t issue a resolution yet. We will wait some days pa kasi kapag nag-issue kami ng resolution resolved na yan e,”said Tagle.

But Tagle said they expect Nograles’ camp to withdraw the case by next week based on the results of the recount.

Nograles earlier filed an election protest seeking the nullification of the proclamation of Duterte, who allegedly won due to irregularities that transpired in all 1,172 clustered precincts in the city.

But instead of opening over 20 percent or 235 ballot boxes which is a policy of the Comelec for recount, Nograles had filed a motion to just open 100 ballot boxes.

“He filed a motion to just open some 100 ballot boxes from clustered precincts. If in these boxes, it will be proven that he really lost, he will abandon (his electoral protest),” Tagle said.

Comelec started the manual recount of the contested ballots in the Davao mayoral race between Duterte and Nograles last Monday.