Tarlac mayor wants ballots decrypted

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of Mayor Miguel Rivilla of Paniqui, Tarlac, has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow the decrypting of the digital image of ballots cast during the mayoralty race in 2013.

In a hearing before the Comelec First Division on Wednesday, Rivilla’s lawyer Roque Bello said the decrypting would confirm the real winner in the election.

Rivilla’s proclamation as Paniqui mayor was questioned by his rival Rommel David, who filed a poll protest with a local court.

Citing double shading, the court nullified 3,684 of the 4,238 votes counted by the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine in favor of Rivilla.