Gwen faces election protest as Yapha wants recount of votes

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu third district Representative Gwendolyn Garcia is facing and election protest filed by her opponent in the May 13 polls before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).

Garcia’s opponent, former Pinamungajan mayor Geraldine Yapha, filed the protest, asking the HRET for a recount of votes. 

Yapha told The FREEMAN last night that the unaccounted 41,858 stray ballots in the third district prompted her to file the protest.

She said all votes should have been counted, stressing that she filed the election protest within the prescribed period after the elections.

In her protest, Yapha asked the HRET to order for the retrieval of all ballot boxes from 434 clustered precincts in the third district for a recount.

Yapha lost by 1,984 votes based on the final and official results, garnering 103,440 votes against Garcia’s 105,424 votes.

The third district is composed of the city of Toledo and the towns of Barili, Aloguinsan, Pinamungajan, Balamban, Asturias and Tuburan.  It has total registered voters of 305,952.

The FREEMAN tried to call Garcia last night but she cannot be reached for comment.

The former governor is among the 33 House members who are facing election protests before the HRET.

Garcia ran under One Cebu Party allied with Vice President Jejomar Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) while Yapha was the candidate of President Aquino’s Liberal Party (LP).

While serving as governor, Garcia was suspended for six months from December 2012 until June 2013.

The suspension stemmed from the administrative complaints for usurpation of authority filed by late vice governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. in 2011.

Garcia is also facing criminal charges before the Sandiganbayan in relation to the alleged anomalous purchase of Balili property amounting to P99 million.

She and her brother, Dumanjug Mayor Nelson Garcia, were the only members of the Garcia clan who won in the last elections.

Her son-in-law, Liloan Mayor Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco, was re-elected.

But her father and two other brothers lost in their respective bids. – With Philippine Star News Service/LPM