The legal counsel of Silay City Mayor Carlo Gamban yesterday said they have not yet received a copy of the order of the Commission on Elections First Division denying their Omnibus motion to set aside the holding of the recount sought by mayoral candidate Jose "Oti" Montelibano.

We have not yet officially received a copy but, as we have said, if there is an order, we will follow it without prejudice to the legal remedies that are available to us, lawyer Rodney Rubica told the DAILY STAR in a telephone interview.

"In any case, we will always follow the order," he said.

Presiding Commissioner Resurreccion Borra and Commissioner Romeo Brawner, in their March 13 order, had affirmed and upheld their twin orders of Feb. 22, 2006 and directed the election officer of Silay City to proceed with the collection, inventory, and transportation of the contested ballot boxes to the premises of the Commission (in Manila).

The COMELEC order said that the Omnibus motion of Gamban contained rehashed arguments that he had raised in his motion to dismiss the protest, which had already been ruled upon by the First Division in its February 22 order.

The order directed Montelibano to deposit the required amount to defray the cost of revision; both parties to submit their pool of revisors; and the city election officer to make an inventory and bring before the COMELEC the ballot boxes containing the contested ballots.

Montelibano, who is protesting the election and proclamation of Gamban on grounds of massive vote-padding, misappreciation and misreading of votes, and substitution of voters, among others, had 17,736 votes against Gamban's 18,019 votes, based on the tally of returns, when Gamban was proclaimed.*NLG

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