Tension in Imus eases as mayor’s men end vigil

IMUS, Cavite—Tension in this town has died down after supporters of Mayor Homer Saquilayan yesterday ended their vigil at the municipal hall.

Some 2,000 supporters of Saquilayan, who had been camping out at the town hall since Monday, left the area after Saquilayan and rival Emmanuel Maliksi decided to wait for the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) over a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Nov. 15 decision of the Imus Regional Trial Court that declared Maliksi as the rightful winner of the 2010 mayoral elections.

“The situation now is peaceful and normal,” said Supt. Herson Mojica, the town police chief, by phone on Friday.

Except for placards expressing support for Saquilayan that were kept hanging all over the town hall fences, all signs of the vigil had disappeared, said Mojica.

Saquilayan sought the Comelec TRO to prevent the court from installing Maliksi as mayor of this town.

The row stemmed from the electoral protest filed by Maliksi, a member of President Aquino’s Liberal Party and son of former Cavite governor and now Imus district Rep. Erineo “Ayong” Maliksi.

Following a manual recount of the votes, the court ruled that Maliksi won by 665 votes in the 2010 mayoral race against Saquilayan of the Nacionalista Party.

In an earlier interview, Maliksi said Saquilayan’s supporters were trying to project an image of a troubled town to justify the issuance of a TRO.

Maliksi said tension would escalate only if Saquilayan defied the court order unseating him.

How the feud turns out, said Maliksi, “is up to them (the Saquilayan camp).”