Three inmates were elected as village councilors while a village chief and two SK chairperson won via drawing of lots and coin toss, respectively, the Commission on Elections said yesterday.
* Comelec chairman George Garcia identified the three inmates who won as barangay kagawad in the BSKE as follows: one detained at the Tanay Municipal Jail elected in Barangay Kay Buto, Tanay, Rizal; one detained at the Dasmariñas City Jail-Male Dormitory elected in Barangay Datu Esmael, Dasmariñas City, Cavite; and one detained at the Cagayan de Oro City Jail-Male Dormitory elected in Barangay Ipunan, Cagayan de Oro City. “We allowed the PDLs to vote because of the Supreme Court decision on the case of Aguinaldo versus Comelec and Bureau of Corrections. In that case, they are not finally convicted or there is no final judgment saying they are guilty. Therefore, they still have the right to vote and be voted for,” Garcia said. The poll chief, however, admitted that the three inmates will have “very limited participation” in their barangays.
* In Cagayan de Oro, election officials declared a village chairperson aspirant as winner via drawing of lots after he and his rival obtained equal number of votes on Monday. Omar Pasawilan was declared the winner after the drawing of lots. Pasawilan and his rival, Sukarno Utto, both earned 997 votes. “This is allowed by law. A special election is not an option,” said Cotabato City Election Officer Norpaisa Paglala Manduyog.
* In Pampanga, the SK chairmanship race in two villages in the provinces of Aurora and Zambales was decided by a coin toss after the elections resulted in a tie. In a best-of-three coin flips, Alex John Agabao won against Noriel Torre in the SK chair race in Barangay 7, Casiguran, Aurora. Both SK candidates got 52 votes each. A similar scenario likewise happened in Barangay San Guillermo, San Marcelino, Zambales. SK candidates Jenelyn Dalit and Jemimah Faith Gongora agreed to resolve the deadlock with a one-time coin toss. Dalit, a re-electionist, emerged as the winner.