The camp of former Lipa City mayoral candidate Bernadette Sabili described as a “victory” the Commission on Elections’ decision finding irregularities in the signatures of more than 15,000 voters during the May 2019 mayoral race there.
In a recent decision, the Comelec allowed the electoral protest of Sabili to proceed to the remaining 196 clustered precincts that are subject of the protest.
But last Thursday, Sabili’s counsel George Garcia filed a motion to withdraw, asking the Comelec 2nd Division to stop the review of the remaining protested precincts, stressing the findings on the 49 pilot precincts where the Comelec established there were irregularities.
“The protestant humbly submits that the continuation of the revision and technical examination proceedings for the remaining 196 protested cluster precincts is no longer necessary considering that the legitimate and true winner for the position of mayor in the city of Lipa during the 2019 elections can now be ascertained; and such continuation will only waste the valuable time and energy of the honorable commission,” Sabili’s motion stated.
“And after completion of the proceedings, declare the protestant (Sabili) as the true and legitimate winner for the position of mayor in the city of Lipa during the May 2019 national and local elections,” it also stated.
Sabili got 76,511 total votes against incumbent Lipa City Mayor Eric Africa’s 78,109 in the 2019 elections.
Sabili is the wife of three-term Lipa City mayor and current Undersecretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Meynard Sabili.
Garcia argued that if the results from the 49 protested pilot precincts, where the Comelec noted irregularities in the signatures, are nullified, Sabili would lead Africa via 69,715 votes against 69,584.
Garcia stressed they are not out to pre-empt the Comelec from issuing its final decision as he maintained his camp’s high respects to the election body.
However, the lawyer said that his camp already proven its claim of electoral fraud – citing the findings of Comelec technical experts that a total of 15,724 signatures of voters in the reviewed ballots were found to have been different from the signatures of the same names when compared to their voters’ registration form.
The fraudulent signatures were culled from the 49 protested pilot precincts already reviewed by the Comelec. One hundred ninety-six precincts remain to be reviewed and are now the subjects of Garcia’s motion to withdraw.