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Sylvia Austria
JAEN, NUEVA ECIJA – Mayor Sylvia Austria resigned from office Monday night to obey an order from a local court and the Department of the Interior and Local Government telling her to leave her post. In a video message, Austria, serving its second term, said it wanted to maintain peace and order in the city.
Judge Angelo Pérez, of the Regional Court of First Instance 87, declared the proclamation of Austria in the May 2019 elections null and void after an electoral protest presented by his rival, former mayor Antonio Prospero Esquivel.
In his December 7 ruling, Pérez said that, based on a manual recount, Esquivel won the election with 18,737 votes out of 14,000 for Austria.
Legal Resource
In 2019, the municipal canvassing board declared Austria the winner after obtaining 20,815 votes, while Esquivel obtained 18,461. “We will take the necessary legal resources to do justice and let the voice of the people of Jaén prevail,” Austria said.
His decision came two days after two successive explosions hit the city hall compound. Police said the blasts came from an improvised explosive device that detonated near one of the gates on Sunday.
No one was injured in the explosions that occurred during a blackout.
Police Major Baltazar Corpuz, Jaén’s police chief, said the explosions cannot be immediately linked to the rivalry between Austria and Esquivel. –ARMAND GALANG INQ
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