News Briefs

MAYOR LEADS RECOUNT

SAN Fernando Mayor Antonio Canoy emerged the winner in the recount of ballots from 10 precincts conducted by the court.

Canoy got 3,967 votes compared to 3,031 votes garnered by former San Fernando mayor Lakambini Reluya.

The recount of votes was conducted before Regional Trial Court Judge Ramon Daomilas Jr. of Branch 11 since May.

Reluya chose which ballots to use in the proceedings.

Canoy, however, could not claim victory yet since the court has yet to decide whether or not to sustain the result of the recount.

After losing her reelection bid, Reluya asked the court to “recount and retabulate”  election  returns in 49 clustered precincts.

Reluya alleged that some nonregistered voters were allowed to vote and that memory cards of precinct count optical scan machines were broken by board of  election  inspectors before the voting. /Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol

UPGRADE FOR EVERSLEY

A BILL  to raise the capacity of the Eversley Childs Sanitarium Hospital from 50 beds to 100 beds was approved on third reading in the Lower House.

House Bill 1801, the first bill filed by Rep. Luigi Quisumbing of Cebu’s 6th district will be transmitted to the Senate for deliberation and sponsorship.

The bill also seeks to upgrade the facilities of and professional health care services provided by the hospital, Quisumbing said.

The upgrades will make the sanitarium a general hospital.

Quisumbing said he was happy with the development.

He earlier said hospital improvement was necessary because there are more patients from Cebu’s northern towns who cannot afford to go to private hospitals and find  Don Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City too far away.

The Eversley Childs Sanitarium Hospital started out as a leprosarium in 1932.  During the time of congressman Efren Herrera in 2000 it was converted to a 25-bed hospital./Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza