• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is investigating the alleged attempt to snatch copies of the certificate of candidacy of a mayoral candidate in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental yesterday.
Engr. Vicente Genova, 55, reported to the Himamaylan City Police Station that one of the two unidentified males who followed him at the Comelec office grabbed the copies of his COC from his hand, which led to a commotion.
Genova described one of the suspects as wearing a black ball cap, maong pants and a sweat shirt while the other one, also wearing a black ball cap, maong pants and a black shirt.
The two men fled after the incident, which was captured on video by one of the witnesses.
Provincial Elections Supervisor Ian Lee Ananoria said that the Himamaylan City election officer already made a report of the incident.
Despite of what happened, Genova managed to file his COC.
Two mayoral candidates filed their COCs in Himamaylan City on Tuesday.
Genova, a former city engineer of Himamaylan, will challenge incumbent Mayor Raymund Tongson in the May 2025 elections mayoral race.
Tongson is seeking a third term and final term.
Meanwhile, Ananoria said the eight days of COC filing in Negros Occidental was peaceful and successful.
He thanked the media for witnessing the filing of COCs, saying that “transparency made this exercise credible”.
Ananoria reported that 41 candidates filed their COC in the provincial level while they are still consolidating the data in the 32 municipalities and cities of Negros Occidental.
He urged the candidates to register their social media accounts with the Comelec for authentication purposes. | GB
