Mayor Carlo Gamban yesterday dismissed as "baseless" the repeated claims of mayoralty candidate Jose "Oti" Montelibano that there were irregularities in the canvassing of votes in Silay City.

Gamban, who garnered 18,019 votes against 17, 736 of Montelibano in the Silay mayoralty race on May 2004 elections as certified by the Comelec, said the "truthfulness" of the election results in the 311 precincts had been signed by the representatives of his opponent, members of the Board of Canvassers and that of his poll watchers.

Our only concern is the possibility that the election results may be altered by a person with Michael Angelo Zuce's ability, Gamban who attended yesterday the Provincial Solid Waste Management Board meeting at the Capitol Building in Bacolod, said.

Zuce had revealed at a Senate hearing the alleged election irregularities committed by the administration of President Arroyo during the May 2004 presidential elections.

Meanwhile, Montelibano is protesting the election and proclamation of Gamban on grounds of what he calls massive vote-padding, misappreciation and misreading of votes, and substitution of voters, among others.

He had also sought the recount, revision and appreciation of ballots, and for the Comelec to annul and set aside the proclamation of Gamban and declare him as the duly-elected mayor of Silay.

If the recounting of the ballots pushes through, Gamban said, "it (the results) will not be changed as the same ballots will be counted which correctness were signed by representatives of all parties involved".

He added that the camp of Montelibano had never questioned the integrity of the BOC members and correctness of votes during the canvassing, except the results of the remaining 30 precincts

The COMELEC First Division, in its Feb. 22, 2006 resolution, allowed the protest of Montelibano, saying it had been filed in time.

The Comelec also directed Montelibano to deposit P286,183 to defray expenses for the revision of the protested precincts and other incidental expenses.*GPB

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