Losing gubernatorial bet former Cabinet secretary Leoncio ‘Jun’ Evasco vowed to continue the fight and “exhaust all legal” means to contest the results of the polls which were allegedly marred by “election offenses.”
“To accept the proclamation of Cong. Arthur Yap, Cong. Rene Relampagos and Gov. Edgar Chatto is to give legitimacy to the massive vote-buying and other election offenses. It is not for me to do that,” said Evasco in a statement issued Thursday.
“I’m not running away from a fight,” Evasco added as his legal staff goes about gathering evidence on alleged massive vote buying and intimidation by the camp of his opponent, governor-elect and outgoing Rep. Arthur Yap, in the gubernatorial race.
The Board of Canvassers proclaimed Yap as the next governor of Bohol on Thursday morning, or three days after the May 13 midterm elections.
Yap garnered 326,895 votes while Evasco got 324,734 votes, marking a narrow lead of 2,161 in the final count.
Evasco had earlier said that he will “instruct” the Hugpong ng Pagbabago-Bohol and Nationalist People’s Coalition-Bohol to file a petition for failure of elections due to the alleged “massive vote-buying from Yap’s camp.
Evasco, who was the national campaign manager of the successful presidential bid of President Duterte in 2016, claimed that he stood his ground on his vow not to buy votes.
He pointed out that the very people who boasted about signing a covenant for clean elections were the ones who bought votes.
“Yes, nearly all of those who faithfully lived up to the Covenant that they signed were buried in the avalanche of cash for everybody who can be bought,” Evasco said.
According to Evasco, Yap’s camp had also employed intimidation and committed “other violations” during the elections.
Following the outcome of the polls, Evasco spent most of his time at his residence in Maribojoc over the weekend.
Evasco said he finds it difficult to face his emotional supporters.
“It is for all of them that I finally arrived at this decision to continue the fight,” he added.