Ex-cop starts commotion in Tanauan City poll precinct

TRECE MARTIRES CITY — A former police officer reportedly started a commotion in a polling precinct in Tanauan City, Batangas during the election on Monday afternoon.

Mary Angeline “Sweet” Halili, a candidate for mayor in the city, said Manuel Manalo, a former police colonel, and Tanauan city police chief, suddenly “went out of control and grabbed the envelopes that contained legal documents … (from our) poll watchers” in Barangay (village) Darasa.

Halili said among those documents were minutes of the elections and election protest letters.

It was not clear what triggered Manalo’s action, but he was also later pacified.

City election officer Erlinda Orense and city police chief Lt. Col. Jack Angug, in separate interviews, said the incident was not reported to their offices.

Halili is the daughter of former Tanauan mayor Antonio Halili, who was gunned down in July 2018.

She is running against five other candidates for mayor namely, Sonia Aquino, Pedrito Carandang, Alfredo Corona, Jesusa Garcia, and Marcos Valdez.

Local authorities consider Tanauan City an election hotspot because of the killing of former mayor Halili. Maricar Cinco (Editor: Leti Z. Boniol)