Candidates, election officers

There are different issues involved in the controversies over Wakee Salud, Jun Pe, and Yayoy Alcoseba:

-- Salud: defective voter's registration for alleged lack of residence;

-- Jun Pe: violation of the term limit by running for the same position in the city council; holding on to his north seat when he's no longer a resident of the north and he filed a COC for a south seat;

-- Yayoy: keeping his city council seat when he has already filed a COC for provincial board member.

An element common to both Jun Pe and Yayoy is that on residence is a "continuing" requirement during their term. You lose residence, you lose your seat.

But there's only one issue involved in the cases of election officers Marchel Sarno and Lionel Marco Castillano:

-- Sarno: photographed eating with Salud inside a restaurant;

-- Casti: photographed, videotaped raising the One Cebu Party hand gesture and, in another occasion, the Liberal Party sign.

Sarno, with his staff, at the restaurant might have just bumped into Wakee whose case is covered by the Cordova election officer, not the city election office.

Casti was giving a candidate's child some comfort and prodding him to flash the "#1" sign. He was also raising the "L" sign with another candidate. In the first, it lasted three seconds or less; in the second, the sign-raising was also brief and covered partly by the paper he was holding.

Nothing illegal in both cases, only the appearance of impropriety, which isn't serious enough for them to be charged but interesting enough to be talked about.