BAYAMBANG ELECTION

SAN CARLOS CITY–Despite losing to their respective opponents by wide margins in the May 9 elections, Bayambang Mayor Ricardo Camacho and his wife Zenaida Camacho still filed election protest against their opponents.

The Camacho couple, who ran for vice mayor and mayor, respectively, filed their election protest on May 16 before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in San Carlos City.

The mayor’s wife, Zenaida Camacho protested the victory of businessman Dr. Cezar Quiambao, who ran as independent and beat her by more than 12,000 votes. Records of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) showed Quiambao garnering 31,946 votes against Mrs. Camacho’s 19,946 votes.

Dr. Cezar Quaimbao, a noted influential businessman, who ran as an independent candidate, told local newsmen in a press conference Friday in his residence, that he felt sad he had to cut short his vacation in order to submit his reply to the protest filed against him.

Mrs. Camacho filed the poll protest at the regional trial court in San Carlos City for the annulment of the proclamation of Quiambao as mayor of Bayambang with prayer for temporary restraining order and/or injunction.

Others included as protestees are the members of the Municipal Board of Canvassers Gloria Cadiente, Lucita Danan and Crisanto Surio.

Quiambao, describing the protest case as a “nuisance case” said it should have been brought to the Commission on Elections, not to the court.

On the other hand, outgoing Mayor Camacho who ruled the town for three consecutive terms and ran unopposed in his last term of office, lost to Quiambao’s runningmate Renato Sabangan by more than 3,000 votes. Sabangan had 27,746 votes against the mayor’s 24,511 votes.

The couple asked the court to set aside the proclamation of the winning candidates due to alleged irregularities and discrepancies noted by their watchers and supporters and for the court to order the opening of ballot boxes to pave the way for manual counting of votes.

Seven of the eight candidates for councilor of Quiambao and Sabangan also won.

In their petition, the Camacho couple cited alleged discrepancies and irregularities, among them alleged massive vote-buying and harassment of their supporters and leaders.

The Camacho couple were accompanied to the RTC by their lawyer, Segundino Ferrer, barangay captains, and their supporters.

“Elections are over. You can see here that they do not want to get out of power… What are they hiding that they would not want to step down?,” Quiambao said.

Bayambang was most peaceful and orderly on election day despite the fact that the town was listed on top of the 21 towns in the Comelec watch list. (Leonardo Micua/Tita Roces)

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