MAYOR CAYETANO DID NOT ABANDON ITS APPEAL TO SC, LEGAL BATTLE IS STILL ONGOING
Taguig Mayor Lani L. Cayetano did not abandon its appeal to the Supreme Court (SC).
This was stressed today by Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano contrary to the claims of defeated candidate Dante O. Tinga that she abandoned her appeal before the SC.
“(former Justice) Tinga is once again distorting the truth,” City Administrator Atty. Jose Luis Montales said noting that there are still issues and incidents pending and unresolved before the Comelec which are procedurally intertwined with the issues which Mayor Lani L. Cayetano intends to raise before the Supreme Court, he noted.
Atty. Darwin Icay added that among the issues they have raised before the Comelec are the following: inventory of Compact Flash (CF) cards; technical examination of the CF cards, PCOS machines and ballots and election returns; clarification as to the intent, extent and consequences of the resolution promulgated on 24 January 2012; and clarification whether revision or recount of ballots shall be undertaken.
“Comelec must resolve all these issues first before we go up to the Supreme Court, if still necessary,” he said.
He added that the “present leadership is stressing the importance of settling these issues because it involves not only the integrity of the ballots but of the electoral process as well.”
TAGALOG VERSION
Mariing pinabulaanan ng kampo ni Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano na isinuko na nito ang laban sa Commission on Elections (COMELEC) patungkol sa resolusyon na nag-uutos na kunin ang mga ballot box kaugnay sa electoral protest na isinampa ni dating supreme court Associte Justice Dante Tinga.
Kaunay nito, bnuweltahan ni City Administrator Atty.Jose Luis Montales ang kampo ng mga Tinga na muli na namang inililihis ang katotohanan sa pamamagitan nang papapakalat ng mga maling impormasyon.
Binigyang diin ni Montales na hindi nila isinusuko ang legal battle .
Ipinaliwanag ni Montales na ang manifestation na isinumite ni Mayor Cayetano sa Korte Suprema noong Pebrero 22 ay naglalayon lamang na resolbahin muna ng Comelec ang mga nakabinbin na usapin patungkol sa kautusan nito na may kinaaman sa retrieval order ng mga balota.
Kabilang sa mga isyung ito ang pagsasa-ilalim sa imbentaryo ng mga CF card; ang technical examination ng mga CF card, PCOS Machine mga balota at election returns; paglilinaw tungkol sa kautusan ng Comelec na kunin ang mga ballot box; paglilinaw sa proseso – isasailalim ba sa revision o recount ang mga balota.
Sinabi pa ni Montales na an mga isyung ito ay nakasaad sa inihain nilang Manifestation with Omnibus Motion noong nakalipas na Enero 30.
Binigyang diin din ni Montales na ang lahat ng usaping kanyang inisa-isa dahil hindi lamang integridad ng balota ang pinag-uusapan kundi maging ang proseso ng halalan.