Thursday, June 07, 2007 Uy, allies urge court on protests By Lizanilla J. Amarga
REELECTED Villanueva Mayor Juliette Uy and the eight municipal councilors-elect who won with her in the May 14, 2007 elections are asking the court to dismiss the two election protests slapped against them.
Also, these officials are praying for Regional Trial Court Branch 21 presiding Judge Gil Bollozos to approve their counterclaims for damages and attorneys' fees among others amounting to a total of almost P1 million.
Municipal councilors of Uy includes: Manuel Silfavan, Macario Lood, Carmito Leon Tapongot, Edwin Dagasuhan, Leoncio Abejo, Romeo Bantug, Enrique Zayas, and Celso Casiño.
They have already hired the services of high-profile lawyers Armando Kho, Marvi Manuel Roa, and Patriflor Roa.
Earlier, Lakas-CMD Villanueva mayoral bet Dr. Josefa Nery hired the services of former senior State Prosecutor lawyer Rogelio Bagabuyo to file an election protest against Uy citing no less than 16 grounds of electoral fraud and irregularities.
Also, Lakas-CMD municipal councilor candidate Gerardo Bautista pushed a separate election protest for all of the municipal councilors who won with Uy.
Both election protests are asking for damages and attorney's fees among others amounting to a total of P1 million. Some 4,000 votes separate Uy from Nery.
There are already eight election protests involving Misamis Oriental candidates filed in the local courts.
Insufficient
In her 12-page answer with compulsory counterclaims, Uy through her lawyers issued admissions and denials.
She then posted several "Special and Affirmative Defenses" to have the election protest summarily dismissed based on the Supreme Courts' new rules of procedure on election protests for municipal candidates in its courts, which took effect last May 15.
"In our answer, we have incorporated our prayer that Judge Bollozos will hold a preliminary hearing for our affirmative defenses before proceeding with the preliminary conference for the election protest proper," lawyer Marvi told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
The special and affirmative defenses include how the election protest is "insufficient in form and content, hence may be summarily dismissed" based on Section 13 (b) of the new Rules of Procedure in Election Contest for Municipal Candidates.
Under this provision, a court judge can summarily dismiss even without any motion from any parties who filed an election protest if it does not conform to the requirements stated in Section 11 or what should be contained in an election protest.
Pursuant to Section 11, an election protest shall specifically state the following as facts: "the position involved, the date of proclamation, and the number of votes credited to the parties per proclamation."
Also, an election protest shall state the "total number of precincts of the municipality or the barangay concerned, the protested precincts and votes of the parties in the protested precincts per the Statement of Votes by Precinct."
But should the votes of the parties be not specified, an "explanation should be provided for by the protestant as to why the votes are not specified."
Lastly, the election protest must contain a "detailed specification of the acts or omissions complained of showing the electoral frauds, anomalies or irregularities in the protested precincts."
Factual and legal basis
Uy argued that election protest slapped against her by Nery does not "state specifically the full identity, exact address and personal circumstances and the official elective position" of the Uy in relation to the Municipality of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental as of the date of its filing."
"The face of the complaint had miserably failed to state specifically the exact identity of the precincts that the protestant is protesting via reference to the exact number and location of the protested precincts," she said.
Uy said there was also a failure to state the number of votes the protestant and the protester "allegedly garnered" from those protested yet "unidentified and unspecified precincts."
"Fifty of the protested precincts have neither any proper identification nor any specification as to the actual number of votes garnered by the protestant and the protester," she said.
Uy said the "face of the complaint had miserably failed to state specifically that appropriate formal objections were made of record" by any authorized representative of Nery's camp "on the legal grounds she is relying upon as factual and legal basis for her instant protest."
This, before the board of election inspectors (BEIs) or the municipal board of canvassers (MBOC) in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.
