Candidate's supporters padlock municipal hall in Rizal, Laguna

Supporters of a mayoralty candidate in Rizal, Laguna have padlocked the municipal hall, preventing local Commission on Election (Comelec) officials from proclaiming the poll winners, an eyewitness reported. In an interview with GMA News Online on Tuesday, Lita Manimtim, a volunteer at the municipal hall, explained that supporters of mayoralty bet Rolen Urriquia, who were protesting outside municipal hall, refused to let government employees leave the building. Urriquia, the town’s former mayor, is facing incumbent Rizal Mayor Antonino Aurelio. “Ang daming barikada ng supporter ni ex-mayor [Urriquia]. Sinara nila ‘yung gate,” Manimtim noted, citing that she was trapped in the building from 8 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m. She estimated that less than 1,000 protested outside the municipal gates creating heavy traffic. “Nilagay nila ang basura sa harap ng munisipyo.” She explained that local Comelec officials left the building around 8 a.m. with police escorts since the protesters would not let them out. “Hindi makapagproclaim ang Comelec kasi baka magkaroon ng violence,” Manimtim said. Apart from some of incumbent mayor Aurelio’s supporters, only police officials are inside the municipal hall. As of this posting, GMA News Online is trying to contact the Rizal town police and mayoral bet Urriquia. According to GMA’s Eleksyon 2013 count, representing 77.77 percent of total votes, Antonino is leading with 4,329 votes, while Urriquia has 3,105 votes.  — BM, GMA News