MANILA - The Supreme Court (SC) sitting as Presidential
Electoral Tribunal (PET) will start the preliminary conference on the election
protest of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. against Vice
President Leni Robredo on Tuesday.
The PET set the preliminary conference after requiring both Marcos and
Robredo to pay cash deposits of P66.02 million and P15.44 million for their
respective protest and counter-protest.
The preliminary conference was originally scheduled on June 21 but the
tribunal decided to re-scheduled on July 11.
Marcos is contesting the results of 36,465 clustered precincts in 30
provinces and cities all over the country citing fraud under three main issues
in his protest, namely the “flawed” Automated Election System (AES), the
failure of elections in several provinces in Mindanao and the unauthorized
introduction by Smartmatic’s Marlon Garcia of a new hash code (or a new script
/ program) into the Transparency Server on the day of the elections.
Marcos earlier said he decided to file the electoral protest due to the
series of frauds, anomalies and irregularities that marred the May 9 elections
and that such activities made sure he would lose to Robredo, the vice
presidential candidate of the administration’s Liberal Party.
Robredo won the 2016 vice presidential race with 14,418,817 votes or
263,473 more than Marcos who got 14,155,344 votes.
In his protest, Marcos contested the results in a total of 132,446
precincts in 39,221 clustered precincts covering 27 provinces and cities.
Robredo filed her answer in August last year and also filed
counter-protest and questioned the results in over 30,000 polling precincts in
several provinces where Marcos won.
She also sought the dismissal of the protest for lack of merit and
jurisdiction of PET.
But the tribunal, in a ruling earlier this year, junked Robredo's plea
and proceeded with the case after finding of sufficiency in form and substance
in the protest.
Last June 14, the PET granted the urgent motion filed by Marcos to
designate at least three hearing officers who will assist the Tribunal during
the preliminary conference on his election protest against Robredo.
In a six-page resolution signed by Felipa B. Anama, Clerk of Tribunal,
PET appointed retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose C. Vitug as the
chairperson of the panel of commissioners. His members are Atty. Angelito C.
Imperio and Atty. Irene Ragodon-Guevarra.
“The commissioners shall decide unanimously to every extent possible,
provided that in the event of failure to reach a unanimous decision, the majority
decision shall prevail,” the PET resolution stated.
The panel of commissioners, the PET said shall assist in the reception
of evidence pursuant to Rule 55 to 62 of the PET rules.
Under the rules, the panel shall set the date for the reception of evidence
of all the parties involved in the protest and counter-protest.
The same panel shall receive the affidavits of witnesses and hear their
direct testimonies of witnesses as well as their cross, re-direct and re-cross
examination. The hearing commissioners also has the authority to rule on the
objects made in the course of the cross-examination subject to review by the
PET.
After the hearing, the hearing commissioners shall submit all the
evidence presented as well as the transcripts of the proceedings before the
PET.
The PET said the chairperson shall receive a compensation of PHP15,000
per day of hearing or service while the members shall receive a PHP10,000 per
day of hearing or service.
Marcos through his counsel George Erwin Garcia, said that the
designation of hearing officers will help the 15-member tribunal in ensure “an
orderly, simplified and expeditious disposition” of his electoral protest which
raised three main issues.
Garcia said it is most important that a hearing officer be assigned for
each cause of action “so as not to muddle the proceedings” as they intend to
present a specific set of witnesses and documentary exhibits per cause of
action.
The former senator said his petition challenging Robredo’s win
“involves not only the adjudication of the private interests of rival
candidates, but also the paramount need of dispelling the uncertainty which
beclouds the real choice of the electorate.”
The first part of Marcos petition was about the Automated Election
System (AES). He said the vote counting machines (VCM) which was one of the
components of the automated system supplied by Smartmatic has no “demonstrated
capability” nor was it ever successfully used in a prior electoral exercise
either in the Philippines or in any other country.
The second part of his petition consists of the more “traditional"
modes of cheating like vote buying, pre-shading, intimidation and failure of
elections, among others.
He specifically asked for the reopening of ballot boxes in each of the
36,465 clustered precincts in Cebu, Province of Leyte, Negros Occidental,
Negros Oriental, Masbate, Zamboanga Del Sur, Zamboanga Del Norte, Bukidnon,
Iloilo Province, Bohol, Quezon Province, Batangas, Western Samar, Misamis
Oriental, Camarines Sur, 2nd District of Northern Samar, Palawan, Sibugay,
Misamis Occidental, Pangasinan, Isabela, Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Cebu City,
Lapu-Lapu City and Zamboanga City.
Marcos is also asking the PET to annul the election results in Lanao
Del Sur, Basilan and Maguindanao where the ballots have been pre-shaded and
recount of 22 provinces and five cities.
The third part of the protest focused on the unauthorized introduction
by Smartmatic’s Marlon Garcia of a new hash code (or a new script / program)
into the Transparency Server as well as the effects brought about by the
unauthorized change.
The tribunal composed of the same 15 justices of the SC has decided to
set just one preliminary conference for the protest and counter-protest, citing
Rule 3 of the 2010 PET Rules that allows adjustment in rules" to achieve a
just, expeditious and inexpensive determination and disposition of every
contest before the tribunal." (Christopher Lloyd T. Caliwan/PNA)
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