LINGAYEN–The election protest filed by former Governor and Congressman Victor Agbayani against incumbent Governor Amado Espino Jr. will not affect the ongoing programs and workload of officials and employees of the provincial government.

This was stressed by Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan in reaction to news that a manual recount of the contested election returns has been scheduled at the Commission on Election head office in Manila.

Espino, according to Baraan, is not one bit worried by the election protest because he knows that he won fair and square.

Baraan said he is baffled by Agbayani’s protest considering that Espino won by an unprecedented 532,000 votes in the May 10, 2010 election.

He also noted that Espino won in all the 44 towns and three cities in the province.

Baraan, however, quickly added that it is within Agbayani’s right to file an election protest.

The 199 ballot boxes from 32 towns and two cities that are up for recounting comprise just 20 percent of the total ballot boxes used in the last election, he stressed.

“Former Governor and Congressman Agbayani has all the right to protest… and determine if the 532,000 majority over which Governor Espino has won is still reversible by way of a recount,” Baraan said.

WASTE OF TIME & MONEY

In a separate interview, Provincial Information Officer Butch Velasco said he considers the election protest “just a waste of time and money” for the governor.

Baraan said that while the cost of the proceedings will be shouldered by the Agbayani as the protestant, he pointed out that the protestee, Espino, is constrained to hire lawyers and people who will also have to watch the ballots during the transporting from the municipalities and cities to Dagupan City and then to Manila.

Baraan expressed hope that the election protest would soon be settled “for us to proceed with our work without unnecessary distractions”.—LM

Back to Homepage

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments