Newsbriefs

YAPHA QUESTIONS STRAY BALLOTS

Former congressional candidate Geraldine “Gaye” Yapha is questioning the 41,858 stray ballots in Cebu’s 3rd district that were unaccounted for in last May’s polls.

In her election protest filed against Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu’s 3rd district at the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), Yapha said the stray ballots weren’t processed by the PCOS (precinct count optical scan) machines.

“This is different from rejected ballots which are altogether not accepted by the PCOS. That’s why we are asking the HRET for a recount and hopefully they will grant it,” she said.

Yapha said all the ballots should have been counted because she filed her election protest on May 31, still within the Comelec’s prescribed period for protests.

In her protest, Yapha said massive electoral fraud took place in the distrct as part of an “Operation Save the Queen” to seure victory for Garcia and her allies.

A former mayor of Pinamungahan town, Yapha lost by a slim margin of 1,984 votes against Garcia who garnered 105, 424 votes.

Yapha said she also asked the HRET to order the retrieval of all ballot boxes from 434 clustered precincts in the third district for the recount to take place.

Yapha ran under the Liberal Party (LP) and faced Garcia of One Cebu who is also allied with the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). / Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos

NO COMMITTEE FOR SANTOS

NEOPHYTE Cebu City Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos aired her wish to chair the health committee during yesterday’s council session only to be rebuffed anew.

Delos Santos, a Team Rama ally, said her family of doctors was willing to help her in the role of health committee chairperson and to replicate barangay Lahug’s health care program.

But the majority Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) bloc ignored her request and went on dividing the 24 committee chairmanships among themselves, delegating a few to some Team Rama councilors.

There was no objections from the four Team Rama councilors to assignment of committees that wasn’t finished from last week’s inaugural session after delos Santos complained about not having a committee chairmanship.

In a privilege speech delivered during the session, Tumulak also mentioned his desire to chair the council’s peace and order and social services committees.

“While Tumulak is saying that the political season is over a lot of employees identified with BO-PK are terminated,” Councilor Gerardo Carillo said in reply.

Carillo said delos Santos and Tumulak were chosen as minority floor leader and assistant minority floor leaders respectively.

Fellow Team Rama councilors James Cuenco was named tourism committee chairman while Hanz Abella is a member of the education committee.

Mayor Michael Rama said he was prepared to give his councilors executive functions to maximize their expertise in City Hall affairs.   / Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac

COUNCIL DEFERS APPOINTMENTS OF RAMA EXECS

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama insisted that council approval is unnecessary for his appointed department heads.

The City Council deferred the appointments of Jose Marie Poblete as City Administrator and Jerome Castillo as City Legal Officer to the laws and rules committee.

Dominic Diño, head of the Human Resources Development Office (HRDO), presented to the council copies of the appointment documents of Poblete and Castillo.

“With or without council approval I can insist on having them,” Rama said later.

Councilor Gerardo Carillo asked that Poblete and Castillo appear before the council so they could present the plans of their respective departments before the council approves their appointments. He later withdrew his motion. / Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac