Virac, Catanduanes — The Election Protest challenging the results of the May 12, 2025 local elections for the position of Municipal Mayor of Virac, Catanduanes has been DISMISSED by the court.
The decision, issued by Acting Presiding Judge Ritche R. Regala of Branch 42, upholds the victory of Protestee Sinforoso “Posoy” M. Sarmiento, Jr. over Protestant Joseph “Boboy” C. Cua.
The case was dismissed after the court found that Protestant Cua failed to establish a “substantial recovery” — a significant number of votes recovered from the designated pilot clustered precincts, as required under A.M. No. 10-4-1-SC (2022 Interim Amendments to the 2010 Rules of Procedure for Municipal Election Contests).
The original election results showed that Sarmiento garnered a total of 22,645 votes, while Cua obtained 15,076 votes, giving Sarmiento a winning margin of 7,569 votes. To proceed with the protest, Cua needed to recover at least 20% of that margin — equivalent to 1,514 votes — from the pilot precincts.
However, the judicial recount and appreciation of ballots from the pilot clustered precincts yielded only a minimal change: Cua gained 6 additional votes (from 3,505 to 3,512), while Sarmiento gained 5 votes.
This small increase fell far short of the required 1,514-vote recovery needed to justify continuing the protest.
The court’s ruling clearly stated:
“There was no substantial recovery of votes in the pilot precincts designated by the protestant himself… Based on the foregoing findings, the protestant failed to establish substantial recovery during the ballot revision process…”
Given Cua’s failure to meet the substantial recovery requirement, the Court DISMISSED the entire protest, thereby affirming the original proclamation of Sinforoso M. Sarmiento, Jr. as the duly elected Municipal Mayor of Virac, Catanduanes.
| Report by Francis Benedict | Bicol Peryodiko |
