Comelec conducts special polls in Isabela

SANTIAGO CITY, Isabela, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday conducted a special election in a village in Jones town here after two vote counting machines (VCMs) and ballots to be used in the area were set on fire last May 14.

Lawyer Michael Camangeg, provincial election supervisor, said the special election was conducted in clustered precinct number 18 that includes precinct numbers 0037A, 0037N, 0038A, 0038B and 0038P1 in Barangay Dicamay I with 786 registered voters.

A total of 502 voters turned up for the special election as of 4:30 p.m. yesterday.

Camangeg said the result of the special election would surely affect the votes of local candidates, particularly the councilors and even party-list representatives.

Reelectionist Mayor Leticia Sebastian, who obtained 12,569 votes against her opponent Lanie Uy with 9,050 votes, had been proclaimed winner by the Comelec together with vice mayor-elect Gaylord Gumpal ahead of the special election because of the margin.

Reports said the VCMs from Barangay Dicamay 1 were being delivered to the municipal hall on board a green dump truck when it was flagged down in Barangay Santa Isabel by at least seven armed suspects last Tuesday at 6:20 a.m.

The armed men allegedly took the truck’s key and ordered the Board of Election Inspectors to unload the VCMs that they torched, together with the other election paraphernalia, before escaping.

Two of the armed suspects identified as Rodel Pascual, 34, and Jayson Leano, 27, both residents of Santa Isabel, were arrested during a police hot pursuit operation in Barangay Diarao, Jones on Wednesday.

Police Lt. Col. Chevalier Iringan, spokesman for the Police Regional Office 2 said cases of robbery, serious illegal detention and violation of the Omnibus Election Code were filed against the two suspects, aside from a separate case of arson filed by the Bureau of Fire Protection.

Iringan said a total of 149 members of the Philippine National Police from the Isabela Police Provincial Office and 317 operatives from the Philippine Army were deployed during the conduct of the special election.

Jones, which has 42 barangays and 30,263 registered voters, is the only town in Cagayan Valley considered an election hotspot due to political rivalry. – With Raymund Catindig