Malonzo proclaims self as mayor

The May 25 order of the Commission on Elections suspending the proclamation of the winning candidates in Caloocan City did not faze Mayor Reynaldo Malonzo who went on to proclaim himself yesterday as the winner in the mayoralty race.

This developed as he ordered an investigation of the delay in the distribution of election paraphernalia in the city on May 14 and vowed to prosecute those liable for the fiasco.

"I want to find out who were those who created trouble at the distribution centers. We believe they were not teachers because they did not have any IDs," he said.

Although he said he is willing to wait for his official Comelec proclamation, Malonzo allowed himself to be proclaimed by his supporters at his office, with media witnessing the event.

"The Comelec would not proclaim us winners, it is now the people who would," he told reporters shortly before he and other winning bets, raised their hands in apparent victory.

June 30 marks the end of the term of office of all incumbent local officials elected in the May 1998 polls.

Malonzo was joined by leading congressional candidate for the city’s second district Edgar Erice and leading council bet Ernesto "Teben" Cunanan.

He said earlier it was all right to wait for the Comelec’s go-signal. "Probably we can be proclaimed on Tuesday or Wednesday. But even if they do that on June 30, that would still be fine. After all, I am still the mayor."

Malonzo also lashed out at his rival, Representative Luis "Baby" Asistio, that there was a massive disenfranchisement of voters in the city as a result of the election mess last May 14.

Instead, he said that "it was the fault" of the residents why they were not able to vote.

"There was no disenfranchisement. There were no reported lost names in the voters’ list. But the distribution of the election paraphernalia was delayed and those who were in their precincts morning did not return in the afternoon anymore. They were not disenfranchised. They got too lazy to vote. That’s the fault of the voters," Malonzo said in Filipino.

Malonzo has a commanding lead of more than 20,000 votes over Asistio, according to the latest tally of the Comelec.

The poll body suspended any proclamation, however, pending the resolution of the petition of Asistio for the declaration of a failure of elections after the City Treasurer’s Office bungled the distribution of the ballot boxes, official ballots, election returns, and other paraphernalia.

Malonzo has announced his victory based on his quick count of the fourth copy of the election returns as early as last week.

In his petition to the Comelec, Asistio claimed that more than 50 percent of the city’s 522,088 registered voters were disenfranchised after city treasurer Lourdes Jose failed to do her job. The City Treasurer’s Office is responsible for the distribution of the election materials issued by the Comelec.

Defending Jose, Malonzo said that the disorderly distribution of the ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia were actually part of Asistio’s "grand scheme" to cheat him in the elections."

According to him, while his rival has accused him of deliberately delaying the elections, it was Asistio who sent people to attack the distribution centers in North City Hall, Bagong Barrio, and the Caloocan City Trade Center across the city hall.

Asistio cannot be reached for comment.

As for the probe panel, Malonzo said it will be composed of people from the legal department, treasurer’s office, police, Comelec, and including Church officials who reported massive disenfranchisement in Caloocan.

Earlier this week, Bishop Teodoro Bacani, Jr., district bishop of the Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas (CALMANA) area, wrote Comelec Chairman Alfredo Benipayo to suspend the proclamation of winners and conduct a thorough investigation on what he called an "election fiasco", citing the massive disenfranchisement of voters.

Asked if there was a conspiracy between the Church and Asistio, Malonzo simply said: "We will find out later." During the campaign, several Asistio streamers and stickers were seen at the San Roque Parish Church just across the city hall.

The City’s Board of Canvassers (BOC) has finished the canvassing of votes yesterday morning. As of press time, the BOC has yet to release the final, official tally of votes.

However, one of Malonzo’s counsels told The STAR that based on their unofficial tally, the incumbent mayor received 147,252 votes against Asistio’s 119,277.

In the first district congressional race, re-electionist Representative Recom Echiverri (Lakas-NUCD) leads over Vice-Mayor Oscar Malapitan, 80, 340 to 44,668. In the second district, Councilor Edgar Erice has a slim edge over Asistio’s older brother, Macario "Boy" Asistio, in the race for the congressional seat. Erice has 51,925 votes, while Boy Asistio received 49,996 votes.

There were no figures available for the race for vice-mayor but as of midnight of May 25, former basketball referee and Malonzo’s running mate, Luis "Tito" Varela trounced Asistio’s running mate, former Representative Bobby Guanzon. Varela has 136,219 votes compared to Guanzon’s measly 53,456.