CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer of the 2nd division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the electoral protest against Gov. Eddie Panlilio will be resolved even up to the level of the Supreme Court before the May elections next year.
In a telephone interview with Punto, Ferrer noted that majority of similar electoral cases in the past had been decided upon by the high court “before the end of the terms” of concerned elected officials.
Ferrer declined to issue any figure from the tabulated results of the recount of gubernatorial votes cast in Pampanga, after 21 committees finished the recount last September. “It’s not really top secret as the lawyers of the contending parties were given copies of the reports of the committees, but they really cannot be sure about their figures since the Comelec’s second division has yet to rule on their objections,” he said.
“Besides, we would like to avoid a trending case,” he said. Punto tried to get figures from Pineda’s lawyer George Garcia, but he only replied that his figures are not yet official.
The case against Panlilio was filed by former provincial board member Lilia Pineda who lost in the 2007 gubernatorial race by 1,147 votes. Panlilio, a priest who was placed under suspension when he entered politics, ran as independent candidate, while Pineda was the bet of the administration Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi) party.
Ferrer said that his second division has already held three hearings on the electoral case since the committees finished their recount. The next hearing is on Nov. 12.
He explained that in these series of hearings, the lawyers of Panlilio and Pineda produce their evidences to support their observations on the ballots during the recount by the 21 committees. This would be followed by rebuttal by either parties, he added.
Ferrer said that he expected his division to finish with the hearings and promulgate its judgment on the case “not later than the end of November.”
“But my most conservative estimate would be by the end of December,” he added, even as he noted that the losing party in the 2nd division’s verdict is expected to appeal the case to the Comelec en banc and, if necessary, before the Supreme Court.
While admitting he had no way of determining how long the Comelec en banc and an appeal to the high court would take, Ferrer cited records indicating that “majority of similar cases were decided (up to the level of the Supreme Court) before the end of the term (of the concerned elected official).”
In a telephone interview with Punto, Ferrer noted that majority of similar electoral cases in the past had been decided upon by the high court “before the end of the terms” of concerned elected officials.
Ferrer declined to issue any figure from the tabulated results of the recount of gubernatorial votes cast in Pampanga, after 21 committees finished the recount last September. “It’s not really top secret as the lawyers of the contending parties were given copies of the reports of the committees, but they really cannot be sure about their figures since the Comelec’s second division has yet to rule on their objections,” he said.
“Besides, we would like to avoid a trending case,” he said. Punto tried to get figures from Pineda’s lawyer George Garcia, but he only replied that his figures are not yet official.
The case against Panlilio was filed by former provincial board member Lilia Pineda who lost in the 2007 gubernatorial race by 1,147 votes. Panlilio, a priest who was placed under suspension when he entered politics, ran as independent candidate, while Pineda was the bet of the administration Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi) party.
Ferrer said that his second division has already held three hearings on the electoral case since the committees finished their recount. The next hearing is on Nov. 12.
He explained that in these series of hearings, the lawyers of Panlilio and Pineda produce their evidences to support their observations on the ballots during the recount by the 21 committees. This would be followed by rebuttal by either parties, he added.
Ferrer said that he expected his division to finish with the hearings and promulgate its judgment on the case “not later than the end of November.”
“But my most conservative estimate would be by the end of December,” he added, even as he noted that the losing party in the 2nd division’s verdict is expected to appeal the case to the Comelec en banc and, if necessary, before the Supreme Court.
While admitting he had no way of determining how long the Comelec en banc and an appeal to the high court would take, Ferrer cited records indicating that “majority of similar cases were decided (up to the level of the Supreme Court) before the end of the term (of the concerned elected official).”
