Bacolod Councilor Claudio “Kalaw” Puentevella yesterday said he will resign as number 11 councilor if the result of the manual recount shows that the camp of Mayor Evelio Leonardia is correct. However, in an interview over Aksyon Radyo, Puentevella said that if they are proven right and the result will show there was some discrepancy, he also challenged the Grupo Progreso candidates to resign. Puentevella said if they are not worried about anything, they should not delay further the opening of the ballots. This was in reaction to a motion to defer the hearing of the case filed by the group's legal counsel, Joselito Bayatan before Electoral Contest Adjudication Department of the Commission on Elections requesting for the hearing to be moved from July 27 to September 28 because of the voluminous documents he has to prepare. The election protest was filed against Leonardia by former mayor Monico Puentevella and against Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran by defeated vice mayoralty candidate Vladimir Goinzalez, who are both seeking a manual recount or audit of the ballots cast in the May 9 elections. Puentevella got 97,993 votes against Leonardia who got 120,231 votes, while Gonzalez got 86,611 votes against El Cid Familiaran who got 108,360 votes. Councilor Puentevella said the supporters of the Pamilya MKK believe that the result of the May 9 election was questionable. His father, defeated mayor Monico Puentevella and Gonzalez, received the notice of the Comelec at the same time the camp of Leonardia did. If they are not afraid of the result, they should not delay the opening of the ballot boxes, Councilor Puentevella said. Leonardia said the Comelec had conducted an audit and the automated poll system shows that the accuracy of the Vote Counting Machine is 99.9 percent and this includes the protested ballots in Bacolod. With these cases alone, it is already safe to say that the results must have also been perfect, he said. “Bayatan said the time left for him to prepare was very short so he had to ask for a postponement. But definitely, we have no fear,” Leonardia said. They saw the trend in the previous protests conducted by the defeated mayor, that if he won the machine was okay. But if he lost he will complain against the machine, he said. Leonardia recalled that his votes even became bigger when former mayor Puentevella filed for a recount and the same thing may happen again. According to Bayatan if the defeated mayor had garnered higher votes, his son would have also have the same. If his son, an incumbent councilor, was not supported by the Iglesia Ni Kristo he would also have lost, he said. Leonardia said postponement is a matter of right and is part of the process. But it depends if Comelec will grant their request. They will just follow whatever will be the decision of the Comelec.*CGS Visayan Daily Star BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
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