By Ruth T. Rodriguez
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, (PNA) -– The electoral protest filed by defeated vice mayoralty race candidate Mark Hagedorn, son of 3rd Palawan District House Rep. Douglas Hagedorn, against Vice Mayor Luis Marcaida III has been favored by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that recently ordered a recounting of the ballots.
Marcaida said the Comelec has indeed ordered its local office in Puerto Princesa to send all ballots and vote results to Manila so that recounting can begin.
“We are sad because we received a notice from the Comelec that the preliminary conference as a result of the electoral protest had been terminated. We have now been advised to get our own revisors and look for individuals who will join the Comelec in bringing the ballots to Manila so the recount can start,” he said Friday.
He said he is dismayed that the electoral protest is progressing despite his large vote advantage against Hagedorn, who was also a former city councilor.
“It’s sad because my political rival cannot accept the result of the recent election,” he said, adding he will still check if the order can be altered through legal means.
“We will still comment on the order because we accorded that right by the Comelec, and let’s see if we can change the decision,” he said.
The ballot boxes have not been sent to Manila, according to Marcaida, and remains under the custody of the Office of the City Treasurer.
Since Marcaida also filed a counter-protest, he and Hagedorn will be shouldering the costs of sending the ballot boxes to Comelec-Manila, and paying for their revisors, who are needed to witness the recounting there. The electoral protest is at the Second Division of the Comelec.