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Comelec: Balansag is duly elected Lantapan, Bukidnon mayor


Lantapan, Bukidnon – The Commission on Elections and the Municipal Board of Canvassers (MBOC) of this town have declared Godofredo I. Balansag as the duly elected Municipal Mayor in the May 10 elections. Municipal Election Officer Bernaldo P. Canoy has issued a certification stating that Balansag garnered Four Hundred Thirty Four (434) votes while his opponent Narciso M. Rubio garnered One Hundred Forty Two (142) votes from the contested clustered precinct No. 36 of Barangay Kilasihan. The certification issued by the MBOC chairman Bernardo Canoy, and Vice chairman Edna G. Jamito, stated they duly canvassed the votes cast in 41 precincts in the municipality in the elections held last May 10, 2010, and that after such canvass Balansag, Godofredo I. obtained 13,797 votes – the highest number of votes legally cast for the office of municipal mayor – and Devibar, Ernie R. obtained 15,457 votes for the office of municipal vice mayor. “ON THE BASIS OF THE FOREGOING, we hereby proclaim the above named winning candidates as the duly elected Municipal Mayor and Municipal Vice Mayor," the certification states. In an interview, re-elected Mayor Balansag said he welcomes the order for the opening of the ballot boxes in the contested 41 precincts and the revision, counting, canvassing, and re-tabulation of the votes. But he added, “I don’t understand why I was blamed if there was fraud and irregularities? We did not operate the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, so how can irregularities perpetrated when the election was done through automation which was implemented by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) throughout the country?" The election row erupted after Rubio filed an election protest with civil case No. 4077-10 in Branch 8 of the Regional Trial Court 10th Judicial Region of Malaybalay City under presiding Judge Pelagio B. Estopia. Balansag said that the controversial 292 votes, which after the verification the affected clustered precinct No.36 of Barangay Kulasihan, was found out to be for him and not of Rubio, who alleged that the same number of votes were deducted from his votes. Balansag added that the supporters and political leaders of Rubio have persistently spread rumors that there were irregularities and fraud during elections, which his rival camp cannot prove. GMANEWS.TV tried to reach mayoral candidate Rubio for comments, but several attempts at contacting him through phone failed. — Ric Clet/LBG, GMANews.TV

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