Atienza withdraws poll protest vs Lim

MANILA, Philippines - Defeated mayoral candidate Lito Atienza has withdrawn an election protest he filed against Mayor Alfredo Lim, the Manila city government said in a statement yesterday.

Atienza, in a Jan. 11 motion granted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), also asked to be allowed to withdraw the balance of the cash deposit he made in connection with the protest, the statement read.

Alicia Risos-Vidal, Lim’s lawyer, welcomed the development as something long overdue. Her office had provided a copy of the motions and the Comelec’s order.

In line with the withdrawal of Atienza’s protest, the poll body ordered its finance services department to refund Atienza the remaining cash deposit of P4.4 million.

During the 2010 elections, Lim garnered 395,910 votes compared to Atienza’s 181,094 votes.

The Comelec’s first division dismissed Atienza’s poll protest on Sept. 13, 2011. The Comelec subsequently affirmed the division’s ruling, saying that even if all the votes from Atienza’s pinpointed precincts were accepted, he would not overtake Lim’s lead of 214,816 votes.