Interview with Jalosjos' lead counsel

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Salazar-Climaco's supporters showed up in pink and red, and with a marching band

Showdown at the grandstand

Above the Commission on Election Office where the final arguments for the disqualification case against mayoralty candidate Romeo Jalosjos is being heard, about ten thousand people rallied behind their respective candidates.

To the right of the COMELEC entrance were the green crowd, Jalosjos' supporters.

And to the left, in red and pink, were constituents of Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, representative of the 1st District of Zamboanga and main rival of Jalosjos in the May 2013 election.

Tension rose between the two groups but for the most, it was good natured. Both groups tried to outdo each other with songs and dance - a typical Filipino trait of grabbing any excuse to belt out a song or two and take the dance floor. 

But much is at stake, for many, nothing less than the future of Zamboanga.

For Salazar's supporter, it is a question of whether a non-Zamboangueno should be given the privilege to vote, much less to run for mayor in the city. Jalosjos is head of a wealthy and powerful political clan that lords it over practically the entire Zamboanga peninsula excepting Zamboanga City.  His seat is Zamboanga del Norte where he was representative when he was convicted of statutory rape in 1997. The commutation of his sentence is one of the final acts of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. If he runs and wins in May 2013, the clan will have control over much of Western Mindanao.

One of Jalosjos' counsel, Atty. Giovanni Luistro, said that by law, two years after serving sentence, a person regains the right to vote. Luistro is concerned that two of the three members of the Election Regulatory Board (ERB) are sympathetic to Climaco and her political ally, sitting mayor Celso Lobregat. He further questions the haste with which the board is conducting the hearing. Despite petitions for more time, the board decided that today's hearing will be the second and final. 

The board will come out with the decision this afternoon.

Debate heats up at hearing to disqualify mayoralty candidate on grounds of prior rape conviction

Zamboanga City -- Romeo Jalosjos, in orange jacket, listens to the arguments during the hearing by the Election Regulatory Board (ERB) on the disqualification case filed against him by incumbent 1st District of Zamboanga representative Maria Isabel Climaco-Salazar.

Salazar is questioning Jalosjos' qualifications to register as a voter in Zamboanga on the grounds of a prior criminal conviction. Jalosjos is set to run against Salazar for the post of mayor of Zamboanga in the May 2013 election. In 1997, while serving as congressman for the neighboring Zamboanga del Norte, Jalosjos was convicted of raping an 11-year old girl.

The hearing started promptly at 9am with about a hundred people crammed into the tight Commission on Election office - supporters of both candidates as well as media and other observers.

The COMELEC is part of the city's sports complex. Above it are the grandstands where thousands more showed up as early as 6am to show their support for their respective candidates.