Comelec suspends proclamation of winners in Luzon, Visayas

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has suspended the proclamation of some winners in the May 14 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in villages in Luzon and the Visayas due to eligibility issues.

Comelec said 339 SK candidates in Central Luzon might have won but some of them faced disqualification after they were found to have failed to meet the age requirement (18 to 24).

Fourteen candidates were found to be younger than 18 while 268 bets were confirmed to be older than 24. Fifty-five SK candidates and two barangay bets were not even registered voters, the Comelec said.

Age requirement

Due to age questions, the Comelec’s first and second divisions had suspended the proclamation of 29 bets for SK chair and council members in the region.

In Pangasinan, the poll body suspended the proclamation of five winners in the towns of Umingan, Mangatarem and San Quintin, and the cities of Urdaneta and Dagupan.

At San Antonio town in Zambales, the Comelec nullified the proclamation of Roberto Agapin Jr., a candidate for kagawad (village councilor) at Barangay San Miguel, after a recount of ballots.

In Cavite province, election supervisor Sheryl Moresca said a candidate for SK chair in General Mariano Alvarez town was disqualified after the Comelec discovered that he was not registered in his village.

Disqualified

Moresca said several SK candidates were found to be “overaged” for the position.

In Western Visayas region, 21 SK candidates in the provinces of Capiz, Iloilo, Guimaras, Negros Occidental and Aklan were disqualified due to age and registration questions.

The order was issued by the Comelec First Division on May 12 but was received by the Comelec regional office only on Monday.

Election winners at Barangay Deit de Turag in Silvino Lobos town, Northern Samar, had been proclaimed after voting was delayed by a day when a group stopped teachers from proceeding to the village early on Monday.

Barangay Deit de Turag, which has 300 voters, is among villages classified as areas of concern in Silvino Lobos. —Reports from Tonette Orejas, Yolanda Sotelo, Villamor Visaya Jr., Joanna Aglibot, Maricar Cinco, Carla P. Gomez and Joey A. Gabieta