Court unseats Nueva Ecija mayor in poll case

ALIAGA, Nueva Ecija—A court here has unseated Aliaga Mayor Elizabeth Vargas after voiding some votes cast for her, which gave her a 64-vote lead over her rival, Nationalist People’s Coalition candidate Reynaldo Ordanes, in the 2013 midterm elections.

Judge Virgilio Caballero of the Regional Trial Court here examined the 11,477 votes obtained by Vargas, a Liberal Party member, and the 11,413 votes cast for Ordanes, and concluded that 72 votes for Vargas should be considered stray votes.

In its May 28 decision, the court also ruled that three of Ordanes’ votes, which were rejected by the precinct count optical scan machine, were valid.

“The ovals pertaining to the vote for mayor were appropriately shaded and no distinguishing marks were found; hence, no reason why these votes should not be counted,” the judge said in the decision.

The votes for Vargas now sum up to 11,405 after deducting 72 votes while those for Ordanes total 11,416 after adding the three validated ballots.

Emmanuel San Juan, municipal administrator, said Vargas had appealed the decision.

In Bulacan province, Baliwag Mayor Carolina Dellosa said a recall petition filed last week against her could be a “political retaliation,” saying it included the signatures of former Baliwag Mayor Romeo Estrella, his wife Sonia and his son Ferdie, whom she defeated in last year’s polls.

The recall petition said the 23,925 signatories had lost confidence in Dellosa’s leadership.

Dellosa said she helped file corruption complaints against the elder Estrella in the Office of the Ombudsman.

The petition also questioned the town hall functions overseen by the mayor’s husband, James Dellosa, who acts as her spokesperson. Dellosa is the brother of former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, retired Gen. Jessie Dellosa, who is now deputy commissioner for intelligence at the Bureau of Customs.  Armand Galang and Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon