Manual recount in 7 Negros towns, cities

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

SEVEN towns and cities in Negros Occidental were ordered to recount the votes in the 2010 elections after some precincts transmitted wrong data to the provincial canvass.

Atty. Jessie Suarez, provincial election supervisor, said the manual recount will be conducted in the cities of Escalante, Sagay, Cadiz, Himamaylan and the towns of Manapla, Ilog at Cauayan.

Suarez said some precincts in the said areas transmitted data of the testing and sealing of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines before the May 10 polls, not the official election day results.

“The manual recount is meant to reconcile the results at the precinct level which affected the returns due to the transmission of erroneous data. The provincial board of canvassers will then reconvene to correct the certificate of canvass and statement of votes,” Suarez said.

Suarez said the recount will likely affect the results of the municipal and city elections only.

A similar problem also occurred in Iloilo City when two precincts in Jaro and LaPaz transmitted the result of the final PCOS testing and sealing.

This prompted the Iloilo City Board of Canvassers (CBOC) to bring the consolidation and canvassing system (CCS) laptop to Comelec in Manila for correction.

Mayor Jerry Treñas and Vice Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog rejected the CBOC’s move and asked their supporters to stop the removal of the CCS from the canvassing area.

Supporters of the two politicians mobbed the Department of Education’s social hall in Mabini Street, preventing Comelec officials from leaving the area.

The standoff ended when the CBOC explained the situation to Mabilog.