Bayatan says he welcomes an electoral protest
By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

After Bacolod City mayoral candidate Jocelle Batapa-Sigue affirmed she would not concede defeat after last week’s midterm elections, Bacolod City legal officer, Atty. Joselito Bayatan, called on the former city councilor to “accept defeat.”
According to the returns, incumbent Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia won by 141,897 votes to Batapa-Sigue’s 79,534, a difference of 62,363 votes.
The city official used the mayoral election in San Isidro, Leyte as an example, pointing out, “The incumbent mayor lost by a difference of only one vote, yet accepted the result.”
Bayatan added, he would welcome an election protest.
In an article posted last week on her official website, Batapa-Sigue wrote: “I cannot concede defeat in an election controlled by money, manipulations, lies, deceit, [and] patronage politics.”
She emphasized her point on “patronage politics,” which refers to the appointing or hiring of individuals based on partisan loyalty, by claiming, “Every institution is controlled by money and favors and has no voice to assert their concerns.”
“Only when Bacolodnons use the right metrics and keep to fair and legal practices in electing their leaders can this city have good leaders,” the candidate added./DGB, WDJ