SunStar: Comelec canvassers ‘arrested’ in Cebu

To their shock, members of the board of canvassers in Bogo town in Cebu made history of sorts by being arrested inside the provincial capitol Saturday night. Sun Star Cebu reported Sunday that lawyer Jojie Decal, who represented congressional bet Benhur Salimbangon, conducted the “citizen’s arrest" amid claims of “electoral sabotage" during the counting. It said Decal approached board chairman Gallardo Escobar and members Mohammad Abdulrashid and Genoveva Sevilla during a recess and told them, “You are under arrest." She then turned over the canvassers, who were having their meal at the time, to a Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) team led by Chief Insp. Rex Dirilo. But the three refused to be “escorted" out of the social hall where the canvassing for provincial votes was held. Escobar said they will not move until Commission on Elections (Comelec) regional director Rene Buac arrived. The board denied allegations of sabotage. “We were very transparent, we even allowed the video showing. We are shocked. We haven’t had time to eat lunch, and now they want to arrest us?" said Escobar. Escobar also said they had planned to reconvene the board and start doing partial tabulations, after which they will inhibit for fear for their lives. He noted that Abdulrashid already received death threats. Acting provincial election supervisor Lionel Castillano arrived in a few minutes, and requested the CIDG officers to wait for Buac. Buac arrived at the scene past 9 p.m. From 9:30 to 11 p.m., Buac and the three members of the Bogo board of canvassers conferred at a table. Castillano was seen offering proposals to end the stalemate. The incident caused the canvassing for Mandaue City, which was scheduled to start at 8 p.m., to be postponed for Sunday morning. Earlier in the day, hundreds of Salimbangon’s supporters held a rally inside the Capitol compound. They urged the special board of canvassers to stop the proceedings, citing “massive cheating." Decal accused the board of canvassers of denying all the protests they filed against discrepancies in the number of votes cast. She said the denial of their petitions last Friday also caused a ruckus at the Capitol hallway, where Salimbangon led supporters in voicing out their complaints against the board. The incident Friday night prompted the suspension of canvassing. On the other hand, the “citizen’s arrest" came hours after Capitol consultant Byron Garcia presented to the media and the board what he said was video footage of ballot boxes “delivered suspiciously" at the session hall at least two days after all the rest were brought to the new canvassing venue, heavily guarded. For their part, lawyers for Bogo Mayor Celestino “Tining" Martinez III, Salimbangon’s opponent, said they will look into the case before commenting. Buac asked Salimbangon’s camp for their basis and proof for doing the arrest as there is no citizen’s arrest based on electoral fraud. But Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s daughter, lawyer Cristina Garcia, said Buac should not intervene because the matter is no longer a Comelec matter but a police matter. Some 30 supporters from the Martinez camp watched from a distance. The rallyists brought placards and a sound system. Salimbangon himself demanded that the canvassing be stopped and called upon the Comelec to appoint a new chairman of the board of canvassers “who is not biased." Cebu provincial police director Sr. Supt. Carmelo Valmoria told the crowd that they are exercising maximum tolerance and will disperse them if they will become violent. Hours later, a glass window in the old social hall where the canvassing was done was shattered, after a stone from the supporters hit it. A splinter hit the wrist of one of Martinez’s lawyers, who requested not to be named to avoid further trouble. - GMANews.TV