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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
High court holds action on Maguindanao canvassing
MANILA -- The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday again deferred action on Genuine Opposition (GO) candidate Aquilino Pimentel's petition seeking to stop the canvassing of votes from the province of Maguindanao.
Following an en banc session, magistrates decided to schedule oral arguments on June 28 for Pimentel's application for a temporary restraining order (TRO).
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The high court said Pimentel's petition entails a determination of factual and legal matters and so the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Team Unity senatorial candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri must also be heard before a stay order is issued.
The Comelec and Zubiri were ordered by the SC to submit their respective comments before noon of June 28. The court likewise directed the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to appear and participate in oral arguments.
While there is no order from the SC directing Comelec to halt the canvassing of votes from Maguindanao, SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the poll body should not preempt the oral arguments in the interest of good faith.
"The court is hoping that the Comelec will defer any action that will make the proceeding moot and academic, until the court has heard both sides. They (respondents) are so minded to act accordingly," Marquez said.
All justices were present during the en banc session, except for Senior Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing and Associate Justices Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez and Eduardo Antonio Nachura.
In his petition, Pimentel asked the SC to stop the Comelec from implementing its June 6 order to initiate proceedings for the declaration of failure of elections in Maguindanao or from using any documents from that province in any canvass for senator.
Pimentel also asked the court to compel the Comelec to declare the winner for the last slot in the senatorial race based on the results of the national canvass, excluding the province of Maguindanao.
He also assailed Comelec's June 15 and June 18 orders authorizing Task Force Maguindanao to meet with various municipal election officers to look into the alleged accountable election documents in their possession and determine if these can be included in the canvass for senators.
Without the canvassing of the Maguindanao votes, Pimentel would win over Zubiri by at least 120,000 votes. Zubiri, on the other hand, claimed Pimentel's lead would be wiped out once the Maguindao votes are counted.
Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said they will continue canvassing the votes in Maguindanao until such time that a restraining order is issued.
In case a temporary restraining order is issued after the poll body shall have completed the canvassing, Sarmiento said no proclamation of the 12th senator-elect would be made.
Also, he added, the results of the Maguindanao canvass would have to be submitted first to the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC). (ECV/MSN/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (June 27, 2007 issue)
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