ANGELES CITY – “Election sabotage.”
Thus said City Administrator Atty. Dennis Albert Pamintuan as they filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) second division yesterday a motion to investigate the alleged tampering of ballots discovered during the recount of votes at Comelec-Manila involving Mayor Edgardo “Ed” Pamintuan and his losing rival in the 2010 elections, former Mayor Francis Nepomuceno. The recount started last Monday and continued yesterday.
Atty. Pamintuan, spokesman of Mayor Pamintuan and one of the legal counsels, said they will also file charges against Nepomuceno as the recount of four barangays here showed “massive tampering of votes, particularly double shading of the names of both Pamintuan and Nepomuceno.”
“The recount committee found out that significant number of ballots were double shaded only for the mayoralty post,” said Pamintuan. “Votes for congressman, councillors and president were correct and intact.”
Pamintuan quoted Comelec officials in charge of the recount who said this is the first time they saw such a massive tampering of votes.
The Comelec yesterday made a recount of the votes in Barangays Sapang Bato, Pampang and Sta. Teresita and found out more number of stray ballots largely due to double shading compared to the combined votes of Pamintuan and Nepomuceno, said Atty. Pamintuan.
Pamintuan won heavily in the three villages but got fewer votes than Nepomuceno as several of them had been spoiled due to the double shading.
Votes for Barangay Pulung Bulo were also counted and only two votes were found spoiled.
“Pulung Bulu’s votes were intact and similar to the votes last year when Mayor Pamintuan defeated Nepomuceno in the same village,” said Atty. Pamintuan, who was with their head legal counsel Atty. George Garcia and Councilor Edu Pamintuan at Comelec office in Manila.
Atty. Pamintuan disclosed to Punto not even one of the legal counsels and representatives of Nepomuceno came to the resumption of the recount yesterday.
“How’s that? They are not at the Comelec anymore when they are the ones who asked for a recount and filed the election protest,’ said Atty. Pamintuan.
The first automated elections was held in the country last year and it required the voter to shade his choice among candidates for each post.
Earlier, Mayor Pamintuan accused Nepomuceno of allegedly tampering with the votes while they were still in their custody 46 days after the election.
Pamintuan’s lead was some 26,000 votes against Nepomuceno.
Punto tried but failed to get the statements of Nepomuceno through Councilor Bryan Nepomuceno, nephew of the former mayor.
