7 ‘bets’ for Puerto Princesa recall poll withdraw

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—At least seven suspected nuisance candidates in the forthcoming recall elections for city mayor here withdrew their candidacy before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday, admitting to a plot to disrupt the polls scheduled on May 8.

Remy Cañete, 35, a balut vendor, told the Inquirer she was with several others from Barangay (village) Matahimik when they were asked by a local official to file their candidacy, not to actually campaign, but to disrupt the polls.

“We were asked to sign the application but we were promised we won’t get into trouble,” Cañete said.

“Just to create confusion in the coming elections,” Mayeth Ferrer, a 53-year-old jobless resident of Matahimik and one of the candidates, told the Inquirer.

Both accused a village councilor, a certain Virgilio Legarda III, of recruiting them to the plot with a promise to pay them P2,500. They claimed they were given only P500 after they completed filing their candidacy.

The two, along with five other candidates, said they sought the help of their village heads to withdraw their candidacy after they were pressured by their respective families.

“I think there were nine from my barangay who filed as candidates and most have already sought assistance from us so they can withdraw,” village chief Ryan Abueme said.

He said he was surprised to learn he has constituents who filed their candidacy for mayor. “They were being subjected to a lot of jokes by their neighbors,” he said.

Abueme also said they would place Legarda under questioning during their regular session later this week.

Officially, there are still 38 remaining mayoral candidates in the coming recall polls, with the main protagonists being incumbent Mayor Lucilo Bayron and former Mayor Edward Hagedorn whose supporters initiated the recall petition.

Abueme claimed that Legarda is a supporter and organizer of Bayron. The Inquirer tried but failed to get a reaction from the camp of Mayor Bayron.

City Comelec official Orlando Baalan earlier said they were aware of possible plots to disrupt the recall polls and were looking at expunging the nuisance candidates, most of them ordinary residents, from their long list before the elections.