BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Mayor-elect Alfredo “Albee” Benitez yesterday dismissed as “baseless and frivolous” the complaints filed by incumbent Mayor Evelio Leonardia before the Comelec, alleging massive vote buying and of allowing fake voters to cast their votes during the May 9 elections in Bacolod City.
“It is another desperate move of one who refuses to accept the truth,” Benitez said in a statement he issued.
Leonardia asked the Commission on Election to declare “failure of elections” in Bacolod City, as he sought the manual recount of all 450 clustered precincts, claiming that the massive vote buying and allowing alleged fake voters to cast their votes led to what he calls “mysterious and unbelievable” outcome of May 9 polls in Bacolod City.
Benitez garnered 171,893 votes, compared to 107, 447 votes of Leonardia, who wants Comelec to conduct a special election in Bacolod City.
Leonardia filed the complaint before the Comelec Central Office on May 20, docketed as Election Protest Case Number 008-2022.
Benitez said that the conduct of the 2022 elections was generally peaceful, credible and orderly, stressing also that no documented and concrete evidence has been shown to prove any irregularities at the voting precincts.
Such electoral protest is therefore an exercise of futility, and will surely be dismissed, he further said.
The people of Bacolod have spoken and it is time to move on and buckle down to work, Benitez stressed.*
