Wednesday, October 11, 2006 High court upholds dismissal of poll protest over Laguna guv's victory
THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday affirmed a resolution of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that dismissed the petition of actor-politician Danilo "Dan" Fernandez seeking to annul the proclamation of Teresita Lazaro as duly-elected governor of Laguna.
In a 10-page decision penned by Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, the Court en banc said Fernandez's electoral protest lacks merit and that there had been no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Comelec in dismissing his suit.
"Grave abuse of discretion arises when a lower court or tribunal violates the Constitution, the law or existing jurisprudence. It is imperative for petitioner to show caprice and arbitrariness on the part of the court or agency whose exercise of discretion is being assailed," the SC ruled.
The high court said the Comelec correctly held that Fernandez did not comply with the mandatory requirements set forth under Section 36 of Comelec Resolution 6669, implementing Section 17 of Republic Act (RA) 7166.
This provision provides that "any candidate, political or coalition of political parties contesting the inclusion or exclusion in the canvass of any election returns/certificate of canvass on any of the ground authorized under Article 20, pre-proclamation controversies, or Sections 234, 235 and 236 of Article 19 of the Omnibus Election Code shall submit their oral objections to the chairman of the board of canvassers at the time the questioned return/certificate is presented for inclusion in the canvass."
Such objection shall be recorded in the minutes of the canvass and upon receipt of any objection, the board of canvassers shall automatically defer the canvass of the contested return/certificate and proceed to canvass those which are not contested.
The court said simultaneous with the oral objection, the objecting party shall submit his objections in writing in the form prescribed by the Comelec.
Records showed that the Comelec in its April 5, 2005 resolution ruled in favor of Lazaro as winner in the 2004 gubernatorial race in Laguna, a decision which Fernandez questioned before the Comelec's First Division.
Fernandez, who made his mark as an actor in the 1990s and last made news when he sought the annulment of his 10-year marriage to actress Shiela Ysrael last year, sought to suspend the canvassing of the certificates of canvass by the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) during the 2004 elections claiming widespread tampering of election results in the towns of Binan and San Pablo City.
The supposed election tampering allegedly padded Lazaro's votes at his expense, Fernandez said.
The Comelec's First Division initially suspended Lazaro's proclamation and directed the Election Records and Statistics Department (ESRD) to investigate the matter.
The suspension was later lifted, but more than a month after, the poll body again directed the ESRD to cause the examination of the elections returns.
On April 12, 2005, the Comelec dismissed Fernandez's petition, prompting him to elevate the case to the SC on grounds of grave abuse of discretion.
But the high court said it was incumbent upon Fernandez to raise his oral objections to the chairman of the city and municipal board of canvassers of San Pablo and Binan, respectively, at the time the questioned election returns or certificates of canvass is presented for inclusion in the canvass.
It said Fernandez cannot justify raising belatedly the issue of tampering before the Provincial Board of Canvassers for allegedly discovering the fraud only a few hours from the start of the proceedings as this would run counter to the mandatory rule requiring protestants to present objections to the inclusion or exclusion of election returns at the time the questioned returns are presented for inclusion in the canvass.
"The fact that Comelec's First Division ordered the examination of election returns notwithstanding the petitioner's belated objections thereto would not change the outcome of this case," the SC said.
The court said the Comelec eventually dismissed Fernandez's petition to annul Lazaro's proclamation after the parties submitted their pleadings and participated in hearings on the matter. (ECV/Sunnex)
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