There is no part in the rule that says the Presidential Electoral Tribunal has the power to declare void an election.
The Supreme Court (SC) , sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), must call for a special election if it grants former Sen. Bongbong Marcos’ motion to annul votes for the 2016 vice-presidential election in three Mindanao provinces.
Former SC Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban made this comment Thursday in reaction to the ongoing hearings on the electoral protest filed by Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo.
In a television interview, Panganiban said the former senator’s omnibus motion for the PET to “investigate alleged substituted-voting in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Basilan” is unprecedented.
“There are many problems there that is why it is prudential to say ‘Just a minute, let’s have comments first.’ This time, Robredo’s comments are important,” Panganiban said. “Why is it difficult to go into that? Firstly, there has been no precedent and the rules of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal do not cover them.”
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The former chief justice noted that PET rules cover only quo warranto and election protests, not failure of election.
“There is no part in the rule that says the Presidential Electoral Tribunal has the power to declare void an election,” said Panganiban. “In legal parlance that is what Marcos is doing, to declare a failure of election. The election fails because the voters were coerced, there was massive province-wide fraud.”
Panganiban also stressed that failure of election is a power given by the Election Code to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and explained that in the absence of rules, the PET can say that it is within its jurisdiction to act on Marcos’ third cause of action.
“Yes. It’s within our jurisdiction and they will say since there are no rules, we will make rules but that will take time. Even if these three provinces are excluded due allegedly to terrorism etc., that’s not the end of the ball game either. There should be a new election because the electorate in those three provinces must be heard,” Panganiban said.
