ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT : 1998 | Senate Electoral Tribunal

Reference: Annual Audit Report on the Senate Electoral Tribunal

For the Calendar Year 31 December 1998

The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) is the constitutional body vested with the power and authority to act as the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns and qualifications of Members of the Senate. It is composed of nine (9) members, three (3) of whom are Justices of the Supreme Court designated by the Chief Justice and the remaining six (6) are Members of the Senate of the Philippines who are chosed on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties represented therein. The senior Justice in the Tribunal is its Chairman (Section 17, Article VI, 1987 Constitution).

For the period 01 January to 31 July 1999, the SET was composed of only eight (8) members, the Senate of the Philippines having elected only five (5) senators as Members thereof. The Members of the Tribunal were:

Hon. Justice Flerida Ruth P. Romero ………………….Chairman

Hon. Justice Jose A.R. Melo………………………….…… Member

Hon. Justice Jose C. Vitug ……………………….………...Member

Hon. Senator Raul S. Roco ……………………………..….Member

Hon. Senator Juan M. Flavier …………………….……...Member

Hon. Senator Vicente C. Sotto III..………………………Member

Hon. Senator Rodolfo G. Biazon…………………….….. Member

Hon. Senator Robert S. Jaworski, Sr ..………………….Member

On 31 July 1999, Tribunal Chairman Senior Associate Justice Flerida Ruth P. Romero retired from government service. In view thereof, Special Order No. 127 was issued by the Honorable Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. reorganizing the composition of the justice-members in the Tribunal. The Honorable Senior Associate Justice Josue N. Bellosillo was designated Chairman while the Honorable Associate Justices Reynato S. Puno and Santiago M. Kapunan were designated as Members effective 01 August 1999.

Shortly thereafter, on 09 August 1999, the Senate of the Philippines elected the Honorable Senator John H. Osmeña (LAMP) as additional Member of the SET. Also elected to the SET was the Honorable Senator Ramon B. Revilla, vice Honorable Senator Vicente C. Sotto III, who had been elected to the Commission on Appointments. Thus, as of 31 December 1999, the composition of the Tribunal was as follows:

Hon. Justice Josue N. Bellosillo……. ………………….Chairman

Hon. Justice Reynato S. Puno..………………………… Member

Hon. Justice Santiago M. Kapunan……………………..Member

Hon. Senator Raul S. Roco ……………………………..Member

Hon. Senator Juan M. Flavier …………………………..Member

Hon. Senator Ramon B. Revilla ……………………….. Member

Hon. Senator Rodolfo G. Biazon……………………….. Member

Hon. Senator Robert S. Jaworski, Sr..…………………Member

Hon. Senator John H. Osmeña………………………….Member

Rules of the Tribunal.

The proceedings of the Tribunal are governed by the Rules of the Senate Electoral Tribunal adopted and promulgated in 1987. As of 31 December 1999, the Rules have been amended thrice – in June 1992, April 1996 and April 1999.

The 1999 amendments changed the composition of the Executive Committee and addressed the requirement of due notice to the parties. Under Rule 3 of the 1996 Revised Rules of the Tribunal, the Executive Committee was composed of any three (3) members of the Tribunal, provided at least one (1) of them is a Justice-Member. Under the 1999 amendment, the composition of the Executive Committeewas changed to include at least one (1) Justice-Member and one (1) Senator-Member. The powers and functions of the Executive Committee remained the same.

To ensure that the parties are properly notified of the pleadings, motions and other papers filed with the Tribunal, Rule 27 was amended to prohibit ex-parte motions by specifically including therein motions and other papers among the pleadings that have to be accompanied by proof of service upon the adverse party or parties. A new paragraph was added to govern pleadings, motion and other papers filed with the Tribunal in connection with election protests and/or cases pending before other Tribunals, courts or agencies. The said pleadings, motions and other papers were likewise required to be accompanied by proof of service upon the adverse party or parties in the said election protests and cases. It was categorically provided that no action shall be taken on pleadings, motions and other papers that fail to comply with such requirement.

To further ensure that the adverse party is seasonably notified of the pleadings, motions and other papers filed with the Tribunal, Section 11 Rule 13 of the Revised Rules of Court was adopted as Rule 28-A of the Revised Rules of the Tribunal. Said rule sets forth the priorities in the mode of service by providing that “whenever practicable, the service and filing of pleadings, motions and other papers shall be done personally. Except with respect to papers emanating from the Tribunal, a resort to other modes must be accompanied by a written explanation why the service or filing was not done personally. A violation of this rule may be cause to consider the paper as not filed.”

Rule 28-B was added to the Revised Rules of the Tribunal, prescribing the procedure with respect to motions and giving the adverse party three (3) days from notice within which to file objections thereto. This is similar to Section 3, Rule 49 of the Revised Rules of Court, except that the period given therein within which the adverse party may file his objections to the motion is five (5) days from notice.

The foregoing amendments were approved by the Tribunal during its Regular Meeting on 23 April 1999. They took effect on 24 May 1999 or fifteen (15) days after publication in Philippine Daily Inquirer on 9 May 1999.

ELECTORAL PROTESTS.

In 1999, there were three (3) electoral protests pending before the Tribunal, namely:

a.) SET Case No. 001-95 (Pimentel vs. Honasan, et.al.)

b.) SET Case No. 001-98 (Pagdanganan vs. Aquino-Oreta)

c.) SET Case No. 002-98 (Lagman vs. Guingona, Jr., et.al)

Each of these election protests involves the following activities:

Collection of the contested ballots and other election documents and paraphernalia
Revision of the contested ballots and election documents;
Photocopying of the revision reports and contested ballots;
Hearing and reception of the parties’ evidence;
Appreciation of the contested ballots and other election documents;
Preparation of reports on the revision and appreciation proceedings; annexing of rulings on the contested ballots; collation of the parties’ votes;
Preparation of decision.

a.) SET Case No. 001-95 (Pimentel vs Honasan, et.al.). –

SET Case No. 001-95 (Pimentel vs. Honasan, et.al.), commenced on 20 June 1995, is actually composed of ten (10) electoral protests, to wit:

Main Protest of Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. against Gregorio Honasan, Marcelo B. Fernan, Juan Ponce Enrile, Anna Dominique Coseteng, Ramon V. Mitra and Rodolfo G. Biazon;

Counter Protest of Honasan against Pimentel;

Counter Protest of Enrile against Pimentel;

Cross Protest of Enrile against Fernan;

Cross Protest Enrile against Coseteng;

Cross Protest of Enrile against Mitra;

Cross Protest of Enrile against Biazon;

Counter Protest of Biazon against Pimentel;

Cross Protest of Biazon against Honasan, Fernan, Enrile, Coseteng and Mitra; and,

Counter Cross Protest of Coseteng against Enrile.

The Cross Protest of Biazon against Honasan, Fernan, Enrile, Coseteng and Mitra was dismissed by the Tribunalon 09 November 1995 for non-payment of filing fees.

As of 31 December 1999, only the Protest of Protestant Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. has been heard by the Tribunal. The different activities involved therein, i.e. collection and revision of ballots and election documents, photocopying of reports and ballots, reception of the parties’ evidence, appreciation of contested ballots, preparation of reports, annexing of rulings on the contested ballots and collation of the parties’ votes, were undertaken beginning 1995 and were completed in 1998. The completed activities covered a total of 7,659 electoral precincts in twenty (20) provinces nationwide, mostly in the Mindanao area.

On 28 July 1999, the Tribunal issued a Decision dismissing the Main Protest, Counter Protests, Cross Protests and Counter Cross Protest subsumed in SET Case No. 001-95 (Pimentel vs. Honasan, et.al.). The Tribunal ruled that by filing his candidacy for a senatorial seat in the 11^th Congress of the Philippines, actively campaigning thereof and finally winning and assuming the office of Senator with a term of six (6) years beginning 30 June 1998, which term of office overlaps with that pertaining to the office being contested in SET Case No. 001-95 (Pimentel vs. Honasan, et.al.), Protestant Pimentel had abandoned said protest. Also considered withdrawn or abandoned was his “determination to protect and pursue the public interest involved in the matter of who is the real choice of the electorate.” Further taken into consideration was Protestant Pimentel’s own evidence showing that he did not win in the 1995 senatorial elections and the practicality of financing a mooted matter not only by the parties bu the government as well.

Pending before the Tribunal are the Motion for Reconsideration filed by counsel for Protestant Pimentel, the Opposition to the Motion for Reconsideration filed by counsel for Protestee Juan Ponce Enrile, the Manifestation filed by counsel for Protestee Marcelo B. Fernan and the Comment on the Motion for Reconsideration filed by counsel for Protestee Anna Dominique Coseteng.

b.) SET Case No. 001-98 (Roberto M. Pagdanganan vs. Teresa Aquino-Oreta)

Proceedings in SET Case No. 001-98 (Pagdanganan vs. Aquino-Oreta) in the year 1999 centered on the pilot areas of Protestant Roberto M. Pagdanganan. A total of 3,030 ballot boxes, together with the different election documents, was collected from the following pilot areas of Protestant Pagdanganan:

PILOT AREAS	DATE OF COLLECTION	NO. OF BALLOT BOXES COLLECTED
1. Tagum City	09 February 1999 15-20 November 1999	256 158
2. Negros Occidental	05-11 July 1999	165
3. Cagayan de Oro City	05-12 July 1999	1125
4. Cebu	05-15 July 1999	944
5. Camarines Sur	27 August 1999 15-19 November 1999	76 306
TOTAL		3030

Only a total of seventy (70) ballot boxes from the Municipalities of Milaor and Libmanan, Camarines Sur remains uncollected. These ballot boxes are involved in local protests pending before the Regional Trial Courts of Naga City and the Municipality of Libmanan. They are scheduled to be collected in the second week of January 2000.

Revision proceedings in SET Case No. 001-98 (Pagdanganan vs. Aquino-Oreta) were held from 28 September to 19 October 1999. Revised were the ballots and election documents pertaining to 2,310 contested electoral precincts from the following pilot areas of Protestant Pagdanganan:

PILOT AREAS	REVISION DATES	NO. OF BALLOT BOXES REVISED
1. Camarines Sur	28 September 1999	76
2. Cebu	28 Sept. – 06 Oct. 1999	944
3. Negros Occidental	06-08 October 1999	165
4. Cagayan de Oro City	08-19 October 1999	1125
TOTAL		2310

Only the 414 ballot boxes from Tagum City and 376 ballot boxes from Camarines Sur, or a total of 790 ballot boxes, remain unrevised. Revision of these ballot boxes is scheduled in the first week of February 2000.

Preliminary appreciation of the contested ballots was held from 04 October to 21 December 1999. An average of ten (10) preliminary appreciation (P.A.) committees was organized. Each P.A. Committee was composed of the Chairman, the Assistor, the Recorder and the Utility Aide. Except for the utility aide, all members of the P.A. Committee were college graduates recruited under rigid screening and selection procedures. Some were former head or alternate head revisors with satisfactory service records and proven sense of loyalty to the Tribunal, independence and integrity. All P.A. Committee members underwent orientation and training before the actual discharge of their functions.

In 1999, the P.A. Committees were able to preliminary appreciate the ballots from a total of 2308 contested precincts, as follows

PILOT AREAS	P.A. DATE	NO. OF PRECINCTS
1. Pili, Camarines Sur	04-05 October 1999	47
2. Ocampo, Camarines Sur	04-05 October 1999	29
3. Barile, Cebu	05-07 October 1999	137
4. Carcar, Cebu	07-25 October 1999	245
5. Toledo City	25 Oct. to 05 Nov. 1999	328
6. Balamban, Cebu	05-12 November 1999	127
7. Pinamungajan, Cebu	12-17 November 1999	105
8. San Enrique, Negros Occ.	16-17 November 1999	58
9. Pontevedra, Negros Occ.	17-19 November 1999	107
10. Cagayan de Oro City	19 Nov. to 21 Dec. 1999	1125
TOTAL		2308

Findings and recommendations of the P.A. Committees were reviewed by the lawyers of the Tribunal, who directly supervised the P.A. Proceedings. These findings and recommendations will be presented to the Tribunal for final resolution.

From 01 January to 31 December 1999, 2308 P.A. reports had been appraised, summaries of appreciation results (SARs) in 2281 precincts had been prepared, 3155 SARs were encoded, reviewed and edited, and consolidated SARs for 2054 precincts had been prepared. The preliminary tally of votes and other reports for nine (9) municipalities have also been completed.

Reception of the parties’ evidence before the designated Hearing Commissioner Atty. Alberto A. Mendoza with respect to the pilot precincts of Protestant Pagdanganan in the Municipality of Malabon, Metro Manila was held on 27 July, 12 August and 15 October 1999. The parties have submitted their respective formal offer of evidence and memoranda. The preliminary conference for the reception of the parties’ evidence pertaining to the pilot precincts in Negros Occidental and Cagayan de Oro City was held on 20 December 1999.

Per Tribunal Timetable, the proceedings involving the pilot areas of Protestant Pagdanganan should have been completed in the year 1999. However, delay, both in the collection and revision of ballot boxes, was encountered due to the numerous motions for deferment of collection and/or revision filed by counsel for Protestant Pagdanganan. The reasons given therefore were usually the inability of Protestant Pagdanganan to raise the amount needed for the activity and/or the insufficient time to recruit and train his revisors.

c.) SET Case No. 002-98 (Edcel C. Lagman vs. Teofisto T. Guingona, Jr., Teresa Aquino-Oreta, Roberto M. Pagdanganan and Ruben Torres)

Proceedings in SET Case No. 002-98 (Lagman vs. Guingona, Jr., et al.) centered primarily on the pilot precincts of Protestant Edcel C. Lagman. With the collection undertaken in 1999 in the following areas, teh ballot boxes and election documents and paraphernalia pertaining to all designated pilot precincts of Protestant Lagman in Caloocan City and the Provinces of Pampanga and Quezon are now in the custody of the Tribunal:

PILOT AREAS	COLLECTION DATE	NO. OF BALLOT BOXES COLLECTED
1. Masantol, Pampanga	21 May 1999	134
2. Caloocan City	15 July 1999	2
3. Quezon Province	11-16 October 1999	1489
4. San Fernando, Pampanga	19 October 1999	410
5. Mabalacat, Pampanga	20 October 1999	2
TOTAL		2037

In 1999, a total of 3,068 ballot boxes from Caloocan City and Pampanga Province was revised, as follows:

PILOT AREAS	REVISION DATE	NO. OF BOXES REVISED
1. Mabalacat	11-19 January 1999 01-03 December 1999	330 8
2. Floridablanca	19-20 January 1999	181
3. Arayat	01-02 February 1999	261
4. Magalang	03-04 February 1999	132
5. Angeles City	15-24 June 1999	675
6. Masantol	24-29 June 1999	133
7. Porac	29 June – 01 July 1999	186
8. Mexico	11-19 August 1999	222
9. Caloocan City	18 Aug. to 06 Sept. 1999	530
10.San Fernando	21-23 December 1999	121
TOTAL		2778

Findings and recommendations of the P.A. Committees as reviewed by the SET lawyers will be submitted to the Tribunal for final resolution. In 1999, 2649 preliminary appreciation reports in SET Case No. 002-98 (Lagman vs. Guingona, Jr., et al.) were appraised. Summaries of appreciation results (SARs) for 1814 precincts were prepared, of which 1477 SARs had been encoded and 1129 SARs had been reviewed and edited. The SARs for 1814 precincts had been consolidated.

On 5 October 1999, a preliminary conference for the reception of the parties’ evidence on the pilot precincts of Protestant Lagman in the Province of Pampanga (excluding San Fernando) and Caloocan City was conducted by the designated Hearing Commissioner Atty. Lamberto B. Delleva. Protestant Lagman submitted his evidence on 16 December 1999. He had also submitted his formal offer to evidence. The other Parties are scheduled to present their respective evidence in January 2000.

As in SET Case no. 001-98 (Pagdanganan vs. Aquino-Oreta), the collection and revision of ballots in this case could not be undertaken without interruption due to several motions for deferment filed by counsel for Protestant Lagman.

In particular, the collection in Quezon Province, which was to be the last with respect to Protestant Lagman’s pilot areas, originally scheduled in September 1998, could not be undertaken until a year later on 11-16 October 1999. This was due to the previous delay experienced in the revision of the ballots from other areas already in the custody of the Tribunal resulting from the inability of Protestant Lagman to deposit the estimated cost of revision and/or to recruit and train sufficient number of revisors, as well as the motion of Protestant Lagman to defer the collection in Quezon Province as he was reportedly contemplating the substitution of said province with another pilot area.

The delay in one phase of the proceedings necessarily resulted in the adjustment of the Tribunal’s Timetable in the other phases, i.e., revision, reception of evidence, preliminary appreciation of contested ballots, etc.

Other Significant Accomplishments.

EPC Case No. 98-131 (Antony Dee vs. Marino Morales) and EPC Case No. 98-132 (Reynaldo Candelaria vs. Prospero Lagman.) –

From 11 January to 12 February 1999, the Tribunal assisted the Regional Trial Court, Brance 589, Angeles City in the revision of the ballots and tallying of votes from the 330 electoral precincts of Mabalacat, Pampanga involved in the above-entitled cases involving the positions of Mayor and Vice-Mayor of the Municipality of Mabalacat, Pampanga, respectively. On motion of the parties, the Tribunal also undertook from 27 January to 11 March 1999 and 11-15 October 1999 the photocopying of the ballots and other election documents involved in these cases. A total of 117,634 pages was reproduced and certified as true xerox copies.