On February 4, 2012, more than 200,000
voters in the province of Zambales will see no new faces in the
special election for the second congressional district. The special
election was set by Comelec upon the request of the Provincial
council of Zambales to replace Rep. Antonio Diaz, who died last
year.
The second district of Zambales covers the capital town of Iba and
the towns ofBotolan, Cabangan, Candelaria, Masinloc, Palauig, San
Antonio, San Felipe, San Narciso, and Santa Cruz.
The possible candidates for the special election are Rica Diaz,
daughter of the late Representative Antonio Diaz; Cheryl
Deloso-Montalla, daughter of former Governor Amor Deloso; Jun Omar
Ebdane, provincial administrator and son of Governor Hermogenes
Ebdane Jr.; and Board Members Wilfredo Pangan and Alfred Mendoza.
According to Comelec, Ebdane, being an appointed official, should
first resign before filing his certificate of candidacy. Filing
period will be from January 16-18, a day before the campaign period
which will be from January
19 to February 2.
The province is also under the Comelec imposed gun ban which started
on December 14, 2011 and will last until February 14.
Based on the Comelec guidelines, any private individual, incumbent
officials or political candidates are prohibited to carry firearms
and hire armed personnel during the congressional election.
The conduct of the election, for which the Comelec has yet to decide
whether to use the PCOS machines used in 2010 or to revert to the
manual system, will be supervised by Comelec Commissioner Christian
Robert Lim.
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