Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central office in Manila to postpone the hearing for the poll protest filed by defeated mayoral bet Monico Puentevella. City Legal Office (CLO) head Atty. Joselito Bayatan said Leonardia has asked to reschedule the hearing from July 27 to September 28, as they received the notice from the Comelec only on July 22. Bayatan explained they need more time to prepare the “voluminous” documents needed, including election returns, certificate of candidacy, and vote counting machine (VCM) audit logs to mount their legal defense. Earlier, Puentevella and his running mate, businessman Vladimir Gonzalez, filed an electoral protest seeking a manual recount of ballots cast during the May 9 elections. Puentevella got 97,993 votes against Leonardia’s 120,231 votes, while Gonzalez received 86,611 votes against El Cid Familiaran’s 108,360 votes. City Election Officer Mavil Majarucon-Sia earlier said Comelec has directed her to submit documents from the 198 clustered precincts in 45 barangays here which will be needed for the hearing. Puentevella wanted the Board of Canvassers to facilitate the manual recount and the city treasurer to secure the ballot boxes, VCMs, and other paraphernalia and records until ordered otherwise by Comelec, Bayatan /Watchmen Daily Journal By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
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