Monday, March 03, 2008 Pineda asks SC to allow ballot revision By Marna H. Dagumboy
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Former Pampanga board member Lilia Pineda has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to lift its order that prevents the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from recounting the votes cast in the May 2007 gubernatorial election here.
Pineda's camp asked the high tribunal to lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) and status quo order to the Comelec to pave the way for the immediate revision of ballots from the 4,847 precincts in Pampanga.
Pineda's lawyer, George Erwin Garcia, also asked the SC to dismiss Governor Eddie Panlilio's petition "for lack of merit."
"Pineda believes that like her, Panlilio (the petitioner) wants to uphold the genuine and true voice of the electorate of the province of Pampanga. Indeed, the genuine will of the voters of Pampanga could truly be determined by expediting the proceeding and resolution of private respondent's election protest case. There is a need to ferret out the truth, whomsoever it may favor," said Garcia in their comment submitted to the high court.
On February 18, the SC issued status quo ante order directing the Comelec to stop from proceeding with the election protest filed by Pineda.
In a resolution, the court en banc, without giving due course, granted the petition for a TRO filed by Panlilio enjoining the Comelec from implementing July 23 and August 1, 2007 resolutions, which denied his motion to stop the collection of ballot boxes as sought by Pineda.
"The Court resolved to require public respondent Comelec to observe the status quo prevailing prior to the issuance of the challenged orders in EPC no. 2007-04 dated July 23, 2007, August 1, 2007 and February 6, 2008, respectively, which directed, interalia, the revision of the ballots pertaining to the protested precincts in Pampanga, and refrain from implementing said orders, until further orders from this Court," the SC ruled.
The SC gave Pineda and the Comelec 10 days to lodge their respective comments and present their arguments why the petition on the merits of Panlilio's petition should not be granted.
In his petition filed on February 14, Panlilio asked for the issuance of a TRO on the assailed resolutions of the election body for continuing to give due course to Pineda's protest and directing the revision of ballots pertaining to the protested 4,847 precincts in the province.
Assisted by election lawyers Romulo Macalintal, Sixto Brillantes, Leila de Lima, Pedro Quadra and Ernesto Francisco Jr., Panlilio personally filed his petition for certiorari, saying the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in issuing the assailed orders.
The governor told the SC that the election protest was almost an exact replica of the election protest filed by private respondent's lawyer in the case of Librado Cabrera v. Michael Montenegro, docketed as Election Case no. 1-2007, before the Taal, Batangas Regional Trial Court.
