The Senate Electoral Tribunal welcomed Senators Loren B. Legarda and Vicente C. Sotto III as new members of the Tribunal during its first meeting for CY 2015 held at the Private Room of the Spiral Restaurant, Sofitel Hotel on 23 January 2015.

Senators Legarda and Sotto took their oaths of office before the Honorable Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio, Chairperson of the Tribunal. They replaced Senators Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara and Gregorio B. Honasan II, respectively.

Presented during the meeting were the SET Accomplishment Report for CY 2014 and the Work Program for CY 2015. Highlights of the Accomplishment Report include the two commendations received by the SET: a) from the Civil Service Commission as Level II-Accredited Agency under the Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM); and b) from the Commission on Audit as Most Outstanding Accounting Office-National Government Sector Awardee for CY 2013.

The main thrust of the SET Work Program for CY 2015 is the automation of certain activities involved in the resolution of electoral protests to shorten the adjudication time. Among the systems to be developed over a three-year period are the Integrated Collection and Revision Information System (ICRIS), the Notices and Requests Aggregation System (NORA) and the Appreciation Decision Support System (AADSS). Support systems like the Integrated Data Administration for Human Resources (IDA-HR) and the Automated Records Management System (ARMS) are also in the drawing board.

The SET is composed of three (3) justices of the Supreme Court, designated by the Chief Justice and six (6) senator, who are chosen on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties represented therein. The senior Justice in the Tribunal acts as its Chairman.