20 SK winning bets in Pangasinan disqualified

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines — For allegedly being over-aged or not registered in the barangays where they ran, the proclamation of at least 20 winning candidates in the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in Pangasinan has been cancelled. 

The Commission on Elections First Division ordered the cancellation of the certificates of candidacy (COCs) of the winning bets in a decision received by the Comelec provincial office on Monday night.

“Finding that... material misrepresentation on their eligibility had been made in the certificates of candidacy... the commission... suspends the proclamation of the candidates in the event that they obtained the highest number of votes or suspend the proclamation in the event that their proclamation had been made,” the Comelec decision read.

Among those disqualified are Nelson Rabaja and Mark Paulo Barcase, who won as SK chairman in Umingan town and Barangay Andangin in Mangatarem, respectively.

The proclamation of Ernesto Davila, SK council member in Barangay Catablan in Urdaneta;  Jimmy Benitez, SK kagawad in Salapingao, Dagupan and Edlyn Lucena, SK kagawad in Bantog, San Quintin were also cancelled.

Marino Salas, Pangasinan election supervisor, said the disqualified candidates would also be charged with perjury, noting that they signed their COCs under oath. 

‘Generally peaceful’

Despite the issue with unregistered and over-aged voters, Salas said the barangay and SK polls in Pangasinan were generally peaceful. 

Police and military presence, information dissemination and community engagements helped ensure a peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections in provinces in Central Luzon, according to regional police director Chief Superintendent Amador Corpus.

“Even in Nueva Ecija which has the most number of election hotspots, no single election-related incident was reported.  I can say that it was the best example that indeed we provided the best security coverage for this electoral process,”Corpus said. 

Poll results

In Albay, local journalists slammed municipal and city election officers for refusing to release the results of the elections.

Zagitzit-FM station manager Jun Alegre said it was the first time that the Comelec office in Legazpi did not release the results of the election.

Idol FM and My Own Internet TV program host Jo Roco said Comelec-Daraga also denied their  request for results of the elections.

Romeo Serrano, Comelec-Bicol assistant regional director, denied the allegations, saying there is no such policy.

Serrano also belied reports that only 50 percent of the ballots had been counted. “In our monitoring, more than 95 percent of the barangay and SK election results are finished,” he said.  – With Ramon Efren Lazaro, Cet Dematera