Election Sept9

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(Joseph Peter Sison v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 134096, March3, 1999)

Facts: It appears that while the election returns were being canvassed bythe Quezon City Board of Canvassers but before the winning candidateswere proclaimed, petitioner commenced suit before the COMELEC byfiling a petition seeking to suspend the canvassing of votes and/orproclamation in Quezon City and to declare a failure of elections. The saidpetition was supposedly filed pursuant to Section 63 of the OmnibusElection Code (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, as amended) on the ground of"massive and orchestrated fraud and acts analogous thereto whichoccurred after the voting and during the preparation of election returnsand in the custody or canvass thereof, which resulted in a failure to

elect."4While the petition was pending before the COMELEC, the City Board ofCanvassers proclaimed the winners of the elections in Quezon City,including the winning candidate for the post of vice mayor. On June 22,1998, the COMELEC promulgated its challenged resolution dismissingthe petition before it on the ground (1) that the allegations therein werenot supported by sufficient evidence, and (2) the grounds recited were notamong the pre-proclamation issues set forth in Section 17 of Republic ActNo. 7166

Issue: WON the grounds are valid?

Ruling: Under the pertinent codal provision of the Omnibus Election Code,there are only three (3) instances where a failure of elections may bedeclared, namely: (a) the election in any polling place has not been heldon the date fixed on account of force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud,or other analogous causes; (b) the election in any polling place had been

suspended before the hour fixed by law for the closing of the voting onaccount of force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogouscauses; or (c) after the voting and during the preparation and transmissionof the election returns or in the custody or canvass thereof such electionresult in a failure to elect on account of force majuere, violence, terrorism ,fraud, or other analogous causes. We have painstakingly examinedpetitioner's petition before the COMELEC but found nothing therein thatcould support an action for declaration of failure of elections. He neveralleged at all that elections were either not held or suspended.Furthermore, petitioner's claim of failure to elect stood as a bareconclusion bereft of any substantive support to describe just exactly howthe failure to elect came about.

MAPPALA vs. NUEZ Case DigestMAPPALA vs. NUEZ240 SCRA 600

Facts: This is an administrative complaint filed by Jacinto Mappalaagainst Judge Crispulo A. Nuez, the presiding judge of the Regional TrialCourt, Branch 22, Cabangan, Isabela for gross inefficiency, seriousmisconduct and violation of the Code of Judicial Ethics. In his decision,respondent found that Alejandro shot complainant inside Precinct No. 2,located at the elementary school building in Sto. Tomas, Isabela, duringthe barangay elections. Respondent also found that Alejandro was theone who surrendered the gun. To respondent, the surrender of theweapon was an implied admission that it was the one used by Alejandroin shooting complainant. Inspite of all these findings, respondent acquitted

Alejandro of illegally carrying a deadly weapon inside a precinct on thetheory that the gun was not seized from him while he was inside theprecinct.

Issue: Whether or not respondent Judge erred in ruling that Alejandrowas not in violation of illegal possession of firearms.

Held: To support a conviction under Sec. 261 (p) of the Omnibus ElectionCode, is not necessary that the deadly weapon should have been seizedfrom the accused while he was in the precinct or within a radius of 100meters therefrom, as it is enough that he carried the deadly weapon inthe polling place or within 100 meters thereof during any of the specifieddays and hours.

2010 RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR MUNICIPAL ELECTIONCONTESTSRULE IS C O P E

Section 1. Title and coverage. These Rules shall be known and cited asThe 2010 Rules of Procedure for Municipal Election Contests.These Rules shall apply to election contests under the AutomatedElection System using the Precinct Count Optical Scan, and shall governthe filing of pleadings, practice and procedure in these contests.Section 2.Application of the Rules of Court. The Rules of Court shallapply to aspects of pleadings, practice and procedure in election contestsnot specifically provided for in these Rules.Section 3. Explanation of terms. For purposes of and as used in theseRules:

(a) Courts refers to the Regional Trial Court;(b) Election means the choice or selection of candidates for

public office by popular vote through the use of the ballot.Specifically, it covers the conduct of the polls, including thelisting of voters, the holding of the electoral campaign, thecasting and counting of ballots, the consolidation andtransmission of results, and the canvassing of the returns;(c) Automated Election System or AES refers to an electionsystem using the technology designated by the Commission onElections (COMELEC) for voting, counting, consolidating,canvassing, transmission of election results, and the returns;(d) Precinct Count Optical Scan or PCOS refers to themachine as well as the technology using an optical ballotscanner, located in every precinct, that scans or reads paperballots that voters mark by hand and insert into the scanner tobe counted;(e) Official ballot refers to the paper ballot, capable of beingoptically scanned, with the pre-printed names of all candidatesand with ovals corresponding to each of the printed names. The

ovals are the spaces where voters express their choice throughmarking or shading using a COMELEC-provided marking pen.(f) Picture Image of the Ballot refers to the image of the ballotcaptured by the PCOS machine at the time the voter feedshis/her ballot, which image is later stored in a memory orremovable data storage device attached to the PCOSmachines.(g) Election Return refers to the document showing the dateof the election, the province, city, municipality and the precinctwhere voting is held, and the number of votes in figures foreach candidate in a precinct or in clustered precincts.(h) Electronic Election Return refers to the copy of theelection return in electronic form, generated by the PCOSmachine, that is electronically transmitted to: (1) the MunicipalBoard of Canvassers for the official canvass; (2) the COMELECBack-Up Server; (3) the server for the dominant majority party;

(4) the server for dominant minority party; (5) server for thecitizens arm authorized by the COMELEC to conduct a parallelcount; and (6) the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcaster sa Pilipinasor KBP.(i) Printed Election Return refers to the copy of the electionreturn printed by the PCOS machine on paper, andauthenticated by the manual signatures and thumbmarks of theBoard of Election Inspectors (BEI) members.(j) Electronic transmission refers to the act of conveying datain electronic form from one location to another.(k) Canvass proceedings refers to the proceedings thatinvolve the consolidation of precinct election results at themunicipal level. The term also includes the formal proclamationof the election winners at the municipal level.(l) Consolidation machine refers to the machine used duringthe canvass proceedings to consolidate at every canvass level.(m) Statement of Votes by Precinct, Municipality, City, District,

Province, or Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) Station -refersto a document in electronic and in printed form generated byconsolidation machines or by computers during the canvassproceedings. This document records the votes obtained bycandidates in each precinct, municipality, city, district, province,or OAV Station, as the case may be.(n) Municipal Certificate of Canvass refers to the document inelectronic and in printed form, containing the total votes infigures obtained by each candidate in the municipality theelectronic form of which is the official canvass result in themunicipality electronically-transmitted to a higher canvass level.(o) Certificate of Canvass and Proclamation refers to theofficial document in printed form, containing the names of allcandidates who obtained the highest number of votes in aparticular municipality and certifying to these candidatesproclamation as winners.


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(p) Data Storage Device refers to the device that storeselectronic documents from where data may be obtained whennecessary to verify the accuracy and correctness of electiondata. The data storage device used in a PCOS shall be underthe custody and direct responsibility of the election officer aftercompletion of the voting process. A data storage deviceincludes the back-up storage device under COMELEC custodythat likewise stores authentic electronic copies of data.(q) Audit Log refers to the electronic document, stored in thePCOS machines data storage device, containing the list of allactivities the PCOS machine performs from the time that it ispowered on until it is turned off.

(r) Electronic document refers to the record of information orthe representation of information, data, figures, symbols orother modes of written expression, described or howeverrepresented, by which a fact may be proved and affirmed,which is received, recorded, transmitted, stored, processed,retrieve or produced electronically. It includes digitally-signeddocuments and any printout or output, readable by sight orother means, that accurately reflects the electronic document.For purposes of these Rules, an electronic document refers toeither the picture image of the ballots or the electronic copies ofthe election returns, the statements of votes, the certificates ofcanvass, the audit log, and other electronic data processed bythe PCOS and consolidation machines.(s) Manual count of ballots where voting using the AES ballotsproceeded manually because the PCOS machines could not beused, votes shall be counted manually under the guidelinesprovided by the COMELEC, and the courts shall be guided

accordingly.(t) Election contests refers to election protests or petitions forquo warranto.(u) Election protest refers to an election contest involving theelection and returns of municipal elective officials, grounded onfraud or irregularities committed in the conduct of the elections,i.e., in the casting and the counting of the ballots, in theconsolidation of votes and in the canvassing of returns, nototherwise classified as a pre-proclamation controversycognizable by the COMELEC. The issue is who obtained theplurality of valid votes cast.(v) Quo Warranto under the Omnibus Election Code refers toan election contest involving the qualifications for office of anelective municipal official, on the ground of ineligibility ordisloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines. The issue iswhether the respondent possesses all the qualifications and

none of the disqualifications prescribed by law.(w) Revision of ballots refers ton the recount of ballotsthrough their physical count; the segregation of ballots for theprotestant, the protestee and other candidates for the sameposition and the recording of the objections and claims to theseballots.(x) Promulgation refers to the process of officially issuing thecourts decision or order in an election contest.

Section 4. Inherent powers of the court. A regional trial court acting onan election contest shall have all the inherent powers of a court providedunder Rule 135 of the Rules of Court, including the power to issueauxiliary writs, processes, and other means necessary to carry itsauthority or jurisdiction into effect and to adopt suitable processes notexpressly provided by, but conformable with, law, these Rules, or theRules of Court.Section 5. Construction. The Rules shall be liberally constructed toachieve a just, expeditious, and inexpensive determination and disposition

of municipal election contests.RULE 2ELECTION CONTESTSSection 1. Jurisdiction of regional trial courts. Regional trial courts shallhave exclusive original jurisdiction over all election contests involvingmunicipal officials.Section 2. How initiated. An election contest is initiated by the filing ofan election protest or a petition for quo warranto against an electivemunicipal official. An election protest or a petition for quo warranto shallbe filed directly with the court in three legible copies plus such number ofcopies corresponding to the number of protestees or respondents.

An election protest shall not include a petition for quo warranto, nor shall apetition for quo warranto include an election protest.Section 3. Modes of service and filing. Service and filing of pleadings,including the initiatory petition and other subsequent papers, shall bedone personally. Except for papers emanating from the court, resort to

other modes of service must be accompanied by a written explanationwhy the service or filing was not done personally. A pleading or motionviolating this Rule shall be considered not to have been filed.1avvphi1Section 4. Election protest. A petition contesting the election or returnsfor an elective municipal office shall be filed with the proper Regional TrialCourt by an candidate who was voted for the same office and whoreceived the second or third-highest number of votes or, in a multi-slotposition, was among the next four candidates following the last-rankedwinner duly proclaimed, as reflected in the official results of the electioncontained in the Statement of Votes by Precinct. The party filing theprotest shall be designated as the protestant; the adverse party shall beknown as the protestee.

Each contest shall refer exclusively to one office; however, contests foroffices of the Sangguniang Bayan may be consolidated in one case.Section 5. Quo warranto. A petition for quo warranto against an electivemunicipal official shall be filed with the proper Regional Trial Court by anyregistered voter who voted in the municipal election. The party filing thepetition shall be designated as the petitioner; the adverse party shall beknown as the respondent.Section 6. Petition must be verified and accompanied by a certificate ofnon-forum shopping. An election protest or a petition for quo warrantoshall be verified by an affidavit stating that the affiant has read the petitionand that its allegations are true and correct of the affiants own knowledgeor based on authentic records. A verification based on "information andbelief" or upon "knowledge, information and belief" is not sufficient.The protestant or petitioner shall sign personally the certificate of non-forum shopping, which must be annexed to the election protest or petitionfor quo warranto.

An unverified or insufficiently verified petition or one that lacks a certificate

of non-forum shopping shall be dismissed outright and shall not suspendthe running of the required period for the filing of an election protest orpetition for quo warranto.Section 7. Period to file protest or petition; non-extendible. The electionprotest or petition for quo warranto shall be filed within a non-extendibleperiod of ten (10) days counted from the date of proclamation.Section 8. Pendency of pre-proclamation controversy. The pendency ofa pre-proclamation controversy, involving the validity of the proclamationas defined by law, shall suspend the running of the period for the filing ofan election protest or petition for quo warranto.Section 9. COMELEC judgment in disqualification case. The decision ofthe COMELEC, either en banc or in division, in a disqualification caseshall not be a bar to the filing of a petition for quo warranto based on thesame ground, except when the Supreme Court has affirmed theCOMELEC decision.Section 10. Contests of the protest or petition. (a) An election protest or

petition forquo warranto shallcommonlyand specifically state thefollowing facts:(i) the position involved;(ii) the date of proclamation; and(iii) the number of votes credited to the parties per theproclamation.

(b) A quo warranto petition shall also state:(i) if the petitioner is not a candidate for the samemunicipal position, the facts giving the petitionerstanding to file the petition;(ii) the qualifications for the municipal office and thedisqualifications prescribed by law;(iii) the petitioners cited ground for ineligibility or thespecific acts of disloyalty to the Republic of thePhilippines.

(c) An election protest shall also state:(i) that the protestant was a candidate who had duly

filed a certificate of candidacy and had been voted forthe same office;(ii) the total number of precincts in the municipality;(iii) the protested precincts and votes of the partiesare not specified, an explanation why the votes arenot specified; and(iv) a detailed specification of the acts or omissionscomplained of showing the electoral frauds,anomalies or irregularities in the protested precincts.

Section 11. Raffle of cases. The Supreme Court shall designate theRegional Trial Court within a judicial region that shall take cognizance ofelection protests and petitions for quo warranto. A raffle conducted by theexecutive judge shall determine the assignment of cases to these courtsexcept in single-sala courts or courts specifically designated by theSupreme Court. No court shall assume jurisdiction over an electioncontest unless the case has been properly assigned to it as provided


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herein.At least twenty-four (24) hours before the raffle, the clerk of court mustserve personal notice to the parties, stating the date and time of the raffle.Proof of service to the parties shall be submitted to the court, and theraffle shall be open to the public. The Supreme Court shall issue thenecessary circular implementing this proviso.The Court may order a change of venue or place or trial for compellingreasons to avoid a miscarriage of justice.Section 12. Summary dismissal of election contests. The court shallsummarily dismiss, motu proporio, an election protest, counter-protest orpetition for quo warranto on any of the following grounds:

(a) The court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter;

(b) The petition is insufficient in form and content as requiredunder Section 10;(c) The petition is filed beyond the period prescribed in theseRules;(d) The filling fee is not paid within the period for filling theelection protest or petition for quo warranto; and(e) In a protest case where cash deposit is required, the depositis not paid within five (5) days from the filling of the protest.

RULE 3S U M M O N SSection 1. Summons. Within twenty-four (24) hours from the filling of aprotest or petition, the clerk of court shall issue the correspondingsummons to the protestee or to the respondent, together with a copy ofthe protest or petition, requiring the filling of an answer within a non-extendible period of five days from notice.Section 2. Service of summons. The summons shall be served byhanding copies of the summons and of the protest or the petition to the

protestee or the respondent in person or, in case of the protestees or therespondents refusal to receive and sign these copies, by tendering themto him or her.If, for justifiable causes, the protestee or the respondent cannot be servedin person as provided above, service may be effected by leaving copies ofthe summons and the protest or the petition at:

(a) The protestees or the respondents residence, with aperson of suitable age and discretion residing therein, or(b) The protestees or the respondents office or regular place ofbusiness, with a competent person in charge thereof.

Section 3. By whom served. The summons shall be served by a sheriff,a deputy sheriff, a process server or any other suitable person authorizedby the court issuing the summons.RULE 4

ANSWER AND COUNTER-PROTESTSection 1. Verified answer; counter-protest. Within five (5) days from

receipt of the summons and the copy of the protest or petition, theprotestee or the respondent shall file an answer in three (3) legible copies,with proof of service of a copy on the protestant or the petitioner.The answer shall be verified and may set forth admissions and denials,special and affirmative defenses, and a compulsory counterclaim. Theprotestee may incorporate a counter-protest in the answer.The counter-protest shall specify the counter-protested precincts and theparties votes per the Statement of Votes by Precinct and, in the propercase, a detailed specification of the acts or omissions complained of aselectoral fraud, anomalies or irregularities in the counter-protestedprecincts; if the votes are not so specified, an explanation should be madefor the omission.1avvphi1Section 2.Answer to counterclaim or counter-protest. The protestant orpetitioner shall answer the counterclaim or counter-protest within a non-extendible period of five (5) days from notice.Section 3.Allegations in the answer.

(a) Specific denial. A protestee or respondent must specify

each material allegation of fact whose truth he or she does notadmit; whenever practicable, he or she shall set forth thesubstance of the matters upon to support the denial. Theprotestee or respondent shall specify the averments that aretrue and material, and shall deny the rest.(b)Allegations not specify denied deemed admitted. Materialaverments in the protest or petition, other than the amount ofunliquidated damages and issues on the appreciation of ballots,shall be deemed admitted when not specifically denied.

Section 4. Effect of failure to plead. (a) Defenses and objections not pleaded. Defenses andobjections not pleaded are deemed waived. The court shalldismiss the claim when it appears from the pleadings or theevidence on record that (1) the court has no jurisdiction over thesubject matter; or (2) there is another action pending betweenthe same parties for the same cause; or (3) the action is barred

by a prior judgement or by the statute of limitations.(b) Compulsory counterclaim or cross-claim not set up barred.

A compulsory counterclaim or a cross-claim not set up shall bebarred.(c) Effect of failure to answer. If the protestee or therespondent fails to answer within the time allowed in an electionprotest that does not involve ballot revision or in a petition forquo warranto, the court upon motion of the Protestant or thepetitioner, with notice to the protestee or the respondent, andupon proof of such failure shall proceed to render judgmentgranting the relief prayed for on the basis of the allegations ofthe verified protest or petition, unless the court in its discretion

opts to require the protestant or the petitioner to submitevidence ex parte.

Where the election protest involves revision or examination of ballots orthe verification or re-tabulation of the election returns, the court shall issuethe appropriate order and shall proceed to render judgment based on theresults of the revision, examination, verification or re-tabulation. Duringthese proceedings, only the protestants revisors may participate. Theprotestee, or his or her duly authorized representative, has the right to bepresent and to observe the proceedings, without the right to object and tolay claim to ballots and election returns.Section 5. How to compute time. In computing any period of timeprescribed or allowed by these Rules, by order of the court or by anyapplicable statute, the day of the act or the event marking the start whentime begins to run is to be excluded and the date of performanceincluded. If the last day of the period, as so computed, falls on a Saturdaya Sunday, or a legal holiday in the place where the court sits, time shallnot run until the next working day.

Section 6.Amendments; limitations. After the expiration of the period forthe filling of an election protest, counter-protest or petition for quowarranto, substantial amendments that broaden the scope of the action orintroduce an additional cause of action may be allowed only upon leave ofcourt. Leave of court may be refused if the motion for leave appears to thecourt to be intended for delay. Any amendment in matters of form suchas a defect in the designation of the parties and other clearly clerical ortypographical errors may summarily corrected by the court at any stageof the proceedings, at its initiative or on motion, provided the correctiondoes not prejudice the adverse party.RULE 5M O T I O N SSection 1. Motions must be in writing. All motions shall be in writing,except for those made in open court.Section 2. Proof of service necessary. The court shall not act on anywritten motion, except upon submitted proof of service on the adverse

party.Section 3. No hearings on motions. No motion shall be set for hearing,and no oral argument shall be allowed in support of any motion, exceptupon the courts express. A motion shall be deemed submitted forresolution unless the adverse party files his or her written objectionswithin five (5) days from service. The court shall resolve a motion within(5) days from the time it is deemed submitted for resolution.RULE 6PROHIBITED PLEADINGSSection 1. Prohibited pleadings and motions. The following pleadings,motions or petitions shall not be allowed in the cases covered by theseRules:

(a) Motion to dismiss the petition, except on the ground of lackof jurisdiction over the subject matter;(b) Motion for a bill of particulars;(c) Demurrer to evidence;(d) Motion for new trial, or for the reconsideration of a judgment

or for reopening of trial;(e) Petition for relief from judgment;(f) Motion for extension of time to file pleadings, affidavits orother papers;(g) Memoranda, except as provided under Section 7, Rile 13 ofthese Rules;(h) Motion to declare the protestee or the respondent in default;(i) Dilatory motion for postponements;(j) Motion for the inhibition of the presiding judge, except onclearly valid grounds;(k) Reply or rejoinder; and(l) Third-party complaint.

Section 2. Grounds to dismiss be set up in the answer. All grounds todismiss an election protest or petition for quo warranto must be set up orpleased as affirmative or special defenses. Defenses not raised aredeemed waived. The court may, at its discretion, hold a preliminary


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hearing on the grounds so pleaded.RULE 7FILING FEES AND CASH DEPOSITSSection 1. Filling fees. No protest, counter-protest or petition for quowarranto shall be accepted for filling without the payment of a filling fee inthe amount of Three Thousand Pesos (P3,000.00) for every protest,counter-protest or petition for quo warranto filed.If claims for damages and attorneys fees are set forth in a protest orcounter-protest, additional filling fees shall be paid in accordance with theschedule under Rule 141 of the Rules of Court, as amended.Section 2. Cash deposit.

(a) In addition to the fees prescribed in the preceding section,

the protestant in an election protest requiring revision orexamination of ballots, or the verification or re-tabulation ofelection returns, or which may require bringing copies of otherelection documents and paraphernalia to court, shall make acash deposit with the court in the following amounts:

i. One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) for each precinctcovered by the protest or counter-protest, providedthat the deposit shall in no case be less than Twenty-five Thousand Pesos (P25,000.00) to be paid uponthe filling of the election protest or counter-protest;ii. Twenty-five Thousand Pesos (P25,000.00) for thecost of bringing to court and of storing andmaintaining the PCOS, the consolidation machinesand other automated election paraphernalia broughtto court as evidence or as necessary equipment inconsidering the protested or counter-protestedballots;

iii. If the amount to be deposit does not exceed OneHundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00), therequired sum shall be paid in full within ten (10) daysfrom the filling of the protest or counter-protest; andiv. If the required deposit shall exceed One HundredThousand Pesos (P100,000.00), a cash deposit inthe amount of One Hundred Thousand Pesos(P100,000.00) shall be made within ten (10) daysfrom the filling of the protest or counter-protest. Thebalance shall be paid in installments under theschedule the court may require after hearing theProtestant or counter-Protestant on the matter.

The cash deposit shall be applied by the court to the paymentof the compensation of revisors as provided under Section 3,Rule 10 of these Rules, and of all the expenses incidental torevision, including but not limited to the cost of supplies and

miscellaneous expenses of the revision committee, the cost ofthe production in court and the storage and maintenance ofautomated election equipment and paraphernalia.When circumstances so demand (such as when the deposit hasbeen or is about to be depleted), the court may require thepayment of additional cash deposits. Any unused cash depositshall be returned to the depositing party after the completetermination of the protest or counter-protest.The same amount of cash deposit shall be required from theprotestee (counter-protestant), should continuation of revisionbe ordered pursuant to paragraph 2, Section 10, Rule 10 ofthese Rules. Once required, the protestee (counter-protestant)shall pay the cash deposit within a non-extendible period ofthree days from receipt of the courts order.(b) Failure to make the cash deposits required within theprescribed time limit shall result in the automatic dismissal ofthe protest or counter-protest.

RULE 8PRODUCTION AND CUSTODY OF BALLOT BOXES, ELECTIONDOCUMENTS,DATA STORAGE DEVICES AND PCOS MACHINES USED IN THEELECTIONS (A)Section 1. Issuance of precautionary protection order. Where theallegations in a protest so warrant, the court shall order simultaneouslywith the issuance of summons the municipal treasurer and electionofficer concerned to take immediate and appropriate measures tosafeguard the integrity of all the ballot boxes and the ballots, the lists ofvoters and voting records, the books of voters and other documents orparaphernalia used in the election, as well as the automated electionequipment and records such as the data storage devices containingelectronic data evidencing the conduct and results of elections in thecontested precincts.Section 2. When ballot boxes and election documents are brought before

the court. Within forty-eight (48) hours from receipt of an answer withcounter-protest, when the allegations in an protest or counter-protest sowarrant, the court shall order the ballot boxes with their keys, the PCOSand consolidation machines, the electronic data storage devices, the listsof voters and voting records, the books of voters, and other documents orparaphernalia involved in the protest or counter-protest, to be broughtbefore it.The court shall notify the parties of the date and time of retrieval andtransfer from their respective custodians of the ballot boxes, the PCOSand consolidation machines (if necessary), the electronics data storagedevices and all other automated election documents and paraphernalia.The parties may send representatives to witness the retrieval and

transfer. The absence, however, of a representative of a party shall not bereason to postpone or delay the retrieval or transfer of the above-mentioned equipment, devices and election documents.The court, at its discretion, may seek the assistance of the PhilippineNational Police (PNP) or the Armed Forces of the Philippines in ensuringthe safe delivery of the ballot boxes and the election equipment, devicesand documents to its custody.Where any of the ballot boxes, ballots, PCOS machines, data storagedevices, election returns, election documents or paraphernalia mentionedabove are also involved in election contests before other for a (such asthe Presidential Electoral Tribunal, the Senate Electoral Tribunal, theHouse of Representatives Electoral Tribunal or the Commission onElections) with preferential rights of custody and revision in simultaneousprotests under COMELEC Resolution No. 2812 dated 17 October 1995,the court shall coordinate with and make the appropriate request with thehigher tribunals for the temporary prior custody of ballot boxes, PCOSmachines, electronic data storage devices and other election documents

and paraphernalia, or for the synchronization of revision activities.The expenses necessary and incidental to the production in court of theballot boxes and election documents and the production, storage andmaintenance of PCOS machines, data storage devices, and automatedelection paraphernalia and documents shall be shouldered and promptlypaid by the protestant and counter-protestant in proportion to theprecincts covered by their protects or counter-protests. The expensesnecessary and incidental to the return of the materials and documentsproduced in court to their original custodians or to the proper tribunal afterthe termination of the case shall likewise be shared proportionately by theprotestant and the protestee based on the number of precincts theyrespectively contest.Section 3.Access to electronic data in the COMELEC back-up server. Upon motion duly made based on demonstrated need, the court mayorder the COMELEC to provide the moving party access to, or to recoverand use, electronic data from the COMELEC back-up server under

conditions and safeguards required by COMELEC.RULE 9PRELIMINARY CONFERENCESection 1. Preliminary conference; mandatory. Within three (3) daysafter the filling of the last responsive pleading allowed by these Rules, oron the expiration of this period without any responsive pleading havingbeen filed, the court shall conduct a mandatory preliminary conferenceamong the parties to consider:

(a) The simplification of issue;(b) The necessary or desirability of amendments to thepleadings;(c) The possibility of obtaining stipulations or admission of factsand of documents to avoid unnecessary proof;(d) The limitation of the number of witnesses;(e) The nature of the testimonies of the witnesses and whetherthey relate to evidence that do not involve the ballots, orotherwise;

(f) The withdrawal of certain protested or counter-protestedprecincts, especially those where the ballot boxes or ballots areunavailable or are missing, cannot be located, have beendestroyed due to natural disasters or calamities, or where thePCOS and other electronic data are missing;(g) The number of revision committees to be constituted;(h) The procedure to be followed in case the election protest orcounter-protest seeks, wholly or partially, the examination ofballots, or the verification or re-tabulation of election returns;(i) The procedure in handling the PCOS and the other electronicmachines and data; and(j) Other matters that may contribute to prompt disposition ofthe case.

Section 2. Notice through counsel. The notice of preliminary conferenceshall be served on counsel or on counsel on the party himself or herselfwho is not presented by counsel. Notice to counsel is to notice to the


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party, as counsel is charged with the duty to notify the party represented.Section 3.Appearances of parties. - The parties have the duty to appearthe person before the court at the preliminary conference. Counselsappearing without their clients should be specifically authorized to appearfor and to bind their clients on the matters covered by the preliminaryconference.Section 4. Preliminary conference brief. The parties shall file with thecourt their respective preliminary conference briefs and serve these onthe adverse party in a manner that shall ensure the other partys receipt ofthe brief at least one day before the date of the preliminary conference.The briefs shall contain the following:

(a) A summary of admitted facts and proposed stipulations;

(b) The issues is to be tried and resolved ( i.e., for electionprotests, the alleged frauds or irregularities committed in theconduct of the election; forquo warranto proceedings, theground for ineligibility or acts of disloyalty);(c) The documents or exhibits to be presented;(d) A manifestation indicating the use of the intent to usediscovery procedures or referral to commissioners;(e) The number and names of witnesses, their addresses, andthe substance of their respective testimonies. The testimoniesof witnesses shall be by affidavits, in question and answer form,which shall serve as their direct testimonies, subject to oralcross-examination;(f) A manifestation of withdrawal of certain protested or counterprotested precincts, if this is the case;(g) The proposed number of revision committees and thenames of proposes revisors and alternated revisors; and(h) The procedure to be followed in case the election protest or

counter protest seeks the revision or examination of ballots, orthe verification or re-tabulation of election returns.

Section 5. Failure to file brief. - The failure to file the required brief or toprovide the briefs mandatory contests shall have the same effect as thefailure to appear at the preliminary conference.Section 6. Effect of failure to appear. The failure of theprotestant/petitioner or the duly authorized counsel to appear at thepreliminary conference authorizes the court, as its own initiative, todismiss the protest, or counter-protest or petition. The failure of theprotestee/respondent or of the duly authorized counsel to appear at thepreliminary conference may likewise have the effect provided underSection 4(c), Rule 4 of these Rules, i.e., the court may allow theprotestant/petitioner to present evidence ex parte and render judgmentbased on the evidence presented.Section 7. Preliminary conference order. The court shall issue an ordersummarizing the matters taken up and the stipulations or agreements

reached during the conference within three (3) days following thetermination of the preliminary conference. The court shall commence, thestarting date of which shall be within five (5) days from the termination ofthe preliminary conference.RULE 10REVISION OF BALLOTSSection 1. Start of revision. The revision of ballots shall commence onthe date specified in the preliminary conference order.Section 2. Revision committee; under the supervision of the court. Asmany revision committees as may be necessary shall be constituted.Each revision committee shall be composed of a chairperson and twomembers, one of whom is designated by the protestant and the other bythe protestee. The court shall designate the chairperson and a recorderfrom among its personnel. The parties shall also designate theirrespective substitute revisors.The revision committee shall conduct the revision in the court premises orat such other place in the court may designate, in every case under its

strict supervision.The revisors shall discharge their duties with the highest degree ofintegrity, conducting the proceedings with the same dignity and disciplinethe court itself brings to the proceedings. They shall exerciseextraordinary diligence and take the precautionary measures requires bythis level of diligence to prevent loss, disappearance or impairment of theintegrity of the ballots and the election documents, whether electronic orprinted, and the misuse of the electronic election machines, devices andparaphernalia.Section 3. Compensation of the revisors. - The court shall fix thecompensation of the revisors at Eight Hundred Pesos (P800.00) per ballotbox for the chairperson and Three Hundred Pesos (P300.00) per ballotbox for each party revisor. The party revisors shall each be entitled to anadditionalper diem of Five Hundred Pesos (P500.00) per day. Thecompensation for a recorder shall be Three Hundred Pesos (P300.00) perballot box. This compensation shall be chargeable against the cash

deposit as provided for under Section2, Rule 7 of these Rules.Section 4. Continuous revisions.

(a) Period for revision. Revision shall be conducted from 8:30a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. fromMonday to Friday, except on non-working holidays. Therevisors may take fifteen-minute breaks during the revision.(b) Revision to continue even if a party revisor is absent orlate. The revision shall bot be delayed or postponed byreason of the absence or tardiness of a partys revisor orsubstitute revisor, as long as the chairperson and one partyrevisor are present. The court may at any time designateanother chairperson if the regular chairperson fails for any

reason to report.(c) If the revisor of the protestee is absent or late. - If the revisorof the protestee is absent or late for thirty minutes and noalternate appears as a substitute, the revision shallnevertheless commence. The protestee shall be deemed tohave waived the right to appear and to object to the revision ofballots made during his or her revisors absence or tardiness.(d) If the revisor of the protestant or the revisors of both partiesfail to appear. If the protestants revisor or the revisors of bothparties or their alternates fail to appear without justifiablereason within one hour after the scheduled start of the revision,the ballot boxes scheduled for revision that day and thecorresponding ballot box keys in the possession of thechairperson, shall be returned to the courts ballot boxcustodian, and the ballots shall no longer be revised, the partiesare deemed to have waived their right to the revision for thatday, and the chairperson shall state the facts of absence and

waiver in the revision report.Section 5. Prohibited access. During the revision, no person other thanthe judge, the clerk of the court, the chairperson and the members of therevision committee, the parties and their duly authorized representativesshall have the access to the revision area.Section 6. Conduct of revision. The revision of the votes on the ballotsshall be done manually and visually and through the use of appropriatePCOS machines, according to the procedure below:

(a) On the scheduled day of revision, the following, if needed,should be in the custody of the court:

(i)the ballot boxes containing the ballots in protestedand counter protested precincts; and(ii) the data storage devices and the PCOS machinesused in the precincts concerned or any other devicethat can be used to authenticate or assure thegenuineness of the ballots;

(b) The revision committee shall initially note, before anythingelse, the condition of the ballot box and its locks and lockingmechanism, and record this condition in the revision report.Based on this observation, the revision committee must alsodetermine whether the integrity of the ballot box has beenpreserved.(c) The ballot box shall then be opened and the ballots takenout. The "valid" ballots shall first be counted, without regard tothe votes obtained by the parties. This will be followed by thecounting of the torn, unused stray and rejected ballots, asclassified at the polling place.(d) The votes appearing in the election returns copy for theballot box shall then be recorded in the minutes.(e) Prior to the actual revision, the revision committee mustauthenticate each and every ballot to make sure that it was thesame ballots cast and fed to the PCOS machine during thevoting. The authentication shall be through the use of PCOS

machines actually used during the elections in the subjectprecinct, or by another device certified by the Commission to becapable of performing the desired authentication requirementthrough the use of the bar codes and the ultra-violet ray codedetection mechanism.(f) The recount shall only proceed after the revision committee,through its chairperson and members, has determined that theintegrity of the ballots has been preserved.(g) The revision committee shall thereafter proceed to look atthe ballots and count the indicated votes for the contestedposition.(h) In looking at the shades or marks used to register votes, therevision committee shall bear in mind that the will of the votersreflected as votes in the ballots shall as much as possible begiven effect, setting technicalities aside. Furthermore, the votesare presumed to have been made by the voter and shall be so


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considered unless reasons exist to justify their rejection.However, marks or shades that are less than 50% of the ovalshall not be considered as valid votes. Any issue as to whethera certain mark or shade is within the threshold shall bedetermined by using the PCOS machine, not by humandetermination.(i) The rules on the appreciation of the ballots under Section211of the Omnibus Election Code shall apply suppletorily whenappropriate.(j) There shall be a tally sheet in at least 5 copies, plusadditional copies depending on the number of additionalparties, that shall be used to tally the votes as they are counted

through the use of taras and sticks.(k) After all the ballots from one ballot box have been counted,the revision committee shall secure the contested ballots andcomplete the recount report for the precinct. Thereafter, it shallproceed to recount the votes from the ballots of the nextprecinct.(l) In case of multiple revision committees, the recount shall bedone simultaneously.(m) In the event that the revision committee determines that theintegrity of the ballots and the ballot box have not beenpreserved, as when proof of tampering or substitution exists, itshall proceed to instruct the printing of the picture image of theballots stored in the data storage device for the precinct. Thecourt shall provide a non-partisan technical person who shallconduct the necessary authentication process to ensure thatthe data or image stored is genuine and not a substitute. Onlyafter this determination can the printed picture image be used

for the recount,Section 7. Preparation and submission of revision report. Thecommittee shall prepare and submit to the court a revisionreportperprecinct stating the following:

(a) the precinct number;(b) the date, the place and the time of revision;(c) the votes of the parties per physical count;(d) the condition and the serial numbers of the following:.

(i) ballot boxes;(ii) self-locking security metal or plastic seals (innerand outer) and padlocks of the ballot boxes;(iii) security envelopes containing the election returns;and(iv) numbered paper seal of the envelopes;

(e) if required, the availability of and other circumstancesattendant to the PCOS machines and other automated election

devices and paraphernalia used in the revision;(f) the votes of the partiesperthe ballot box copy of the electionreturns andperthe tally sheet/board found inside the ballot box;(g) the number of ballots objected to by the parties indicatingtherein the exhibit numbers;(h) the grounds of objections;(i) the number of stray ballots;(j) the claims on ballots with their exhibit numbers; and(k) the entries in the Minutes of Voting and Counting,particularly:

(i) the number of registered voters;(ii) the number of voters who actually voted;(iii) the number of official ballots, together with theirserial numbers, used in the election;(iv) the number if ballots actually used indicating theserial numbers of the ballots; and(v) the unused ballots together with their serial

numbers.The revision forms shall be made available prior to the revision.The per-precinct revision report shall be signed and certified bythe chairperson and by the parties revisors, and shall form partof the records of the case.In addition to the per-precinct revision report, the revisioncommittee shall also prepare and submit to the court, withinthree days from termination of the revision, a committee reportsummarizing the data, votes, ballot objections and claims, andsignificant observations made during the revision of ballots fromthe protested precincts and later from the counter-protestedprecincts, if so conducted based on the provisions of Section 10below. Each party furnished with a copy of the committee reportmay submit its comments thereon within a non-extendibleperiod of three (3) days from notice.

Section 8. Order of revision. Revision of ballots shall start with those

from the protested precincts , subject to the provisions of Section 10thereof.Section 9. Inquiry as to security markings and vital information relative toballots and election documents. When a revision of ballots is ordered,and for the guidance of the revisors, the court shall inquire about thesecurity markings on the ballots and the security measures used in theelection documents from the Chairperson of COMELEC who shall beobliged to indicate this markings, measures and other vital informationthat may aid the court in determining the authenticity of the ballots andelection documents. The parties shall be notified of the results of thisinquiry.Section 10. Post-revision determination of the merit or legitimacy of the

protest prior to revision of the counter-protest. Immediately after therevision or examination of ballots, or the verification or re-tabulation ofelection returns in all protested precincts, the protestant shall be requiredto point to a number of precincts, corresponding to twenty percent (20%)of the total of the revised protested precincts, that will best attest to thevotes recovered, ore that will best exemplify the fraud or irregularitiespleaded in the protest. In the meanwhile, the revision or examination ofthe ballots, or the verification or re-tabulation of election returns in thecounter-protested precincts, shall be suspended for a period notexceeding fifteen days to allow the court to preliminarily determine,through the appreciation of ballots and other submitted electiondocuments, the merit of legitimacy of the protest based in the chosentwenty percent (20%) of the protested precincts.Based on the results of this post-revision preliminary determination, thecourt may dismiss the protest without further proceedings if the validity ofthe grounds for the protest is no established by the evidence from thechosen twenty percent (20%) of the protested precincts; or proceed with

the revision or examination if the ballots, or the verification or re-tabulationof election returns in the counter-protested precincts. In the latter case,the protestee shall be required to pay the cash deposit within a non-extendible period of three (3) days from notice.Section 11. Continuation of the appreciation of ballots. - If the courtdecides not to dismiss the protest after the preliminary examination of theevidence from the chose twenty percent (20%) of the protested precincts,revision with respect to the remaining precincts shall proceed at the sametime that the ballots or election documents from the counter-protestedprecincts are being revised. After completion of the revision of theprotested precincts, the court shall proceed with the appreciation andrevision of ballots from the counter-protested precincts.RULE 11TECHNICAL EXAMINATIONSection 1. Motion f or technical examination; contents. Except when theprotest or counter-protest involves allegation of massive substitute voting,

a party may move for the technical examination of the presented evidencewithin five (5) days after completion of the revision in the protest orcounter-protest, specifying:

(a) The nature of the technical examination requested (e.g.,fingerprint examination, etc.);(b) The documents or machines/equipment to be subjected totechnical examination;(c) The objections made in the course of the revision of ballotswhich the movant intends to substantiate with the results of thetechnical examination; and(d) The ballots covered by these objections.

Section 2. Technical examination; time limits. The court may grant themotion for technical examination at its discretion and under the conditionsit may impose. If the motion is granted, the technical examination shallstart within five (5) days from notice to both parties, and shall becompleted within the period specified by the court, in no case to exceed totwenty successive working days, unless the court grants an extension

based on exceptionally meritorious ground. A party may attend thetechnical examination either personally or through a representative.However the technical examination shall proceed with or without theattendance of a party, provided that the due notice has been given.The expenses for technical examination shall be for the account of theparty requesting the examination. The technical examination shall beunder the supervision of the clerk of court.Section 3. Experts; who shall provide. Experts necessary for theconduct of technical examination shall be provided by the party requestingthe same and may come from the National Bureau of Investigation, thePNP Crime Laboratory, the Commission on Elections, the Department ofScience and Technology, or experts from the private sector. The otherparty may secure the services of his or her own expert who may onlyobserve, not interfere with, the examination conducted by the movantsexperts.RULE 12


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PHOTOCOPYING OF BALLOTSSection 1. Photocopying simultaneous with revision. On the motion of aparty, the court may allow the photocopying of ballots and electiondocuments, upon such terms and conditions as the court may impose.The photocopying, if allowed, must start at the commencement of revisionand, as far as practicable, must be completed simultaneously with thetermination of revision.Section 2. Where conducted; parties to provide own photocopying units. Photocopying shall be done within the premises of the court, near therevision area, and shall be under the supervision of the clerk of court. Therequesting party shall provide an efficient photocopying unit and shallbear all attendant expenses.

Section 3. Copying or reproduction of electronic data. On the motion ofa party, the court may allow the reproduction of electronic data that aresubmitted as evidence, or that are within the custody and control of theCOMELEC under the conditions and safeguards the COMELEC shallrequire. The costs and expenses shall be for the account of the partyseeking the reproduction.RULE 13PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCESection 1. Presentation and reception of evidence; order of hearing. If atthe preliminary conference the parties have agreed on issues that do notinvolve the examination and appreciation of ballots or other electiondocuments (e.g., vote-buying, fraud, terrorism or violence), the receptionof evidence on the issues, including the testimonies of witnesses, shall bedone simultaneously with the revision of ballots that may be required.The reception of evidence on all other matters or issues incidental to orinvolving the ballots and related election documents shall be made uponcompletion of (a) the revision of ballots or election documents; or (b) the

technical examination, if allowed by the court under the provisions of Rule11 of these Rules.Reception of evidence shall be made in accordance with the followingorder of hearing:

(a) The protestant or petitioner shall present evidence insupport of the protest or petition;(b) The protestee or respondent shall then adduce evidence insupport of the defense, counterclaim or counter-protest, if any;(c) The parties may then respectively offer rebuttal evidenceonly, unless the court for good reasons and in the furtheranceof justice, permits them to offer evidence on their original case;and(d) No sur-rebuttal evidence shall be allowed.

In offering testimonial evidence, the party shall require the proposedwitness to execute an affidavit which shall be considered as the witnessdirect testimony, subject to the right of the adverse party to object to its

inadmissible portions and to orally cross-examine the witness. Theaffidavit shall be based on personal knowledge, shall set forth facts aswould be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that theaffiant is competent to testify on the stated matters. The affidavit shall bein question and answer form, and shall be submitted to the court andserved on the adverse party at least three (3) days before the hearing.Failure to submit the affidavit of witness within the specified time shallconstitute a waiver of the partys right to present testimonial evidence.The one-day-cross-examination-of witness rule i.e., that a witness hasto be fully cross-examined on one day shall strictly be followed, subjectto the courts discretion to extend the cross-examination for justifiablereasons.The revision reports, as well as the ballots objected to or claimed by theparties and the submitted electronic evidence, shall automatically formpart of court records and may be adopted by the other parties as theirevidence.Section 2. Offer of evidence. The court shall not consider any evidence

that has not been formally offered. Offer of evidence shall be done orallyon the last day of hearing allowed for each party after the presentation ofthe partys last witness. The opposing party shall be required toimmediately interpose objections to the offer. The court shall rule on theoffer of evidence in open court. However, the court may, at its discretion,allow the party to make an offer of evidence in writing, which shall besubmitted within three days from notice of the courts order. If the courtrejects any evidence offered, the party may make a tender of theexcluded evidence.Section 3. Reception of evidence continuous. Reception of evidence,once commenced, shall continue from day to day, as far as practicable,until fully completed or terminated at the courts order. In no case shall theentire period for reception of evidence exceed ten successive days foreach party, from the first day reception of evidence starts, unlessotherwise authorized by the Supreme Court.Section 4.Adjournments and postponements. No motion for

postponement shall be allowed, except for clearly meritorious reasons. Inno case shall the resetting of hearings have an interval exceeding threecalendar days, nor shall the postponements of hearing granted to eachparty exceed three (3). The filing of dilatory pleadings or motions shallconstitute direct contempt of court and shall be punished accordingly.Section 5. Burden of proof. Burden of proof is the duty of a party topresent evidence of the facts in issue to establish his or her claim ordefense.Section 6. Disputable presumptions. The following presumptions areconsidered as established facts, unless contradicted and overcome byother evidence:

(a) On the election procedure:

(i) The election of candidates was held on the dateand at the time set and in the polling placedetermined by the Commission on Elections;(ii) The Boards of Election Inspectors were dulyconstituted and organized;(iii) Political parties and candidates were dulyrepresented by pollwatchers;(iv) Pollwatchers were able to perform their functions;(v) The Minutes of Voting and Counting contains allthe incidents that transpired before the Board ofElection Inspectors; and(vi) The Audit Log contains the list of all activitiesperformed by the PCOS machines from the time itwas powered on until it was turned off.

(b) On election paraphernalia:(i) Ballots and election returns that bear the securitymarkings and features prescribed by the Commission

on Elections are genuine;(ii) The data and information supplied by themembers of the Boards of Election Inspectors in theaccountable forms are true and correct; and(iii) The allocation, packing and distribution of electiondocuments or paraphernalia were properly and timelydone;(iv) The PCOS and consolidation machines and thedata storage devices are all in order, and the datagenerated reflect the activities entered in theseelectronic machines and devices.

(c) On appreciation of ballots:(i) A ballot with appropriate security markings is valid;(ii) The ballot reflects the intent of the voter;(iii) The ballot was properly accomplished;(iv) A voter personally prepared one ballot, except in

the case of assistors; and(v) The exercise of ones right to vote was voluntaryand free.

Section 7. Submission of memoranda. The court may allow the partiesto submit their respective memoranda within a non-extendible period often (10) days from the verbal ruling of the court on the last offer ofexhibits; or, if the offer was made in writing, within ten (10) days fromreceipt of the written ruling of the court. No supplemental, reply or rebuttalmemorandum shall be allowed.RULE 14D E C I S I O NSection 1. Rendition of decision. The court shall decide the electioncontest within thirty (30) days from the date the case is submitted fordecision, in no case beyond six (6) months after its filing, unless theSupreme Court authorizes an extension in writing. Failure to comply withthis timeline shall be considered a serious offense and shall be a groundfor disciplinary action against the judge. In addition, six (6) months after

the submission of the case for decision, the judge shall be relieved of allduties and functions except to decide the election case.

An election protest is deemed submitted for decision after completion ofthe reception of evidence or, if the parties were allowed to submitmemoranda, upon submission of their memoranda or the expiration of theperiod for their filing, whichever is earlier. In an election protest, thewinner shall be the candidate who obtained the plurality of the valid votescast.Section 2. Form of decision in election protests. After the termination ofthe revision of ballots and before rendering its decision in an electionprotest that involved a revision, the court shall examine and appreciatethe original ballots. The court, in its appreciation of the ballots and inruling on the parties claims and objections, shall observe the followingrules:

(a) On marked ballots The court must specify and point to themarking clearly indicating the voters intent to identify the ballot.


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(b) On fake or spurious ballots, election document, machine,device or paraphernalia The court must specify theCOMELEC security markings or features that are not found inthe ballot, election documents, machine, device orparaphernalia considered fake or spurious, or the operation oraspects of the machine, device or paraphernalia that resulted infake or spurious results;(c) On stray ballots The court must specify and state in detailwhy the ballots are considered stray;(d) On claimed ballots The court must specify the exact basisfor admitting claimed votes or crediting these to either party.

Section 3. Several judgments. In a protest or petition against several

protestees or respondents, the court may, when a several judgment isproper, render judgment against one or more of them, leaving the protestor petition to proceed against the others.Section 4. Promulgation of decision. The decision signed by thepresiding judge shall be promulgated by reading its dispositive portion inopen court on a date set with notice to the parties and filing the decisionwith the clerk of court; or by the delivery of a copy of the signed decisionto the clerk of court, who shall forthwith indicate the date of rendition andcause true copies thereof to be served, personally or by registered mail,on the counsels or on the parties if they are not represented by counsel.Section 5. Finality of decision. The courts promulgated decision shallbecome final and executory five (5) days after receipt of notice by theparties if no appeal is taken.Section 6. Entry of judgment. If no appeal is filed within the timeprovided in these Rules, the judgment shall be entered by the clerk in thebook of entries of judgments. The date of finality of the judgment shall bethe date of its entry. The record shall contain the dispositive part of the

judgment and shall be signed by the clerk, with a certificate that thejudgment has become final and executory.Section 7. Notice of final decision. As soon as the decision becomesfinal, the clerk of court shall send notices to the COMELEC, theDepartment of the Interior and Local Government, and the Commissionon Audit.Section 8.Appeal. An aggrieved party may appeal the decision to theCOMELEC within five (5) days after promulgation, by filing a notice ofappeal with the court that rendered the decision, with copy served on theadverse counsel or on the adverse party who is not represented bycounsel.Section 9.Appeal fee. The appellant in an election contest shall pay tothe court that rendered the decision an appeal fee of One ThousandPesos (P1,000.00), simultaneously with the filing of the notice of appeal.Section 10. Immediate transmittal of records of the case. The clerk ofcourt shall, within fifteen (15) days from the filing of the notice of appeal,

transmit to the Electoral Contests Adjudication Department, COMELEC,the complete records of the case, together with all the evidence, includingthe original and three copies of the transcript of stenographic notes of theproceedings.Section 11. Execution pending appeal. On motion of the prevailing partywith notice to the adverse party, the court, at its discretion and while still inpossession of the original records, may order the execution of its decisionbefore the expiration of the period to appeal, subject to the following rules:

(a) Execution pending appeal shall not issue except uponmotion and hearing with prior notice of the motion of at leastthree (3) days to the adverse party. The motion for executionpending appeal must be supported by good reasons cited andstated by the court in a special order. These reasons must:

(i) constitute superior circumstances demandingurgency that would outweigh the injury or damage,should the losing party secure a reversal of the

judgment on appeal; and

(ii) manifest, in the decision sought to be executed,that the defeat of the protestee or the victory of theprotestant has been clearly established.

(b) If the court grants an execution pending appeal, anaggrieved party shall have twenty working days from notice ofthe special order within which to secure a restraining order orstatus quo order from the Supreme Court or the COMELEC.The corresponding writ of execution shall issue after twenty (20)days if no restraining order or status quo order is issued. Duringthe twenty (20)-day period, the issuance of a writ of executionpending appeal shall be stayed.

Section 12. Jurisdiction of the Commission on Elections in certioraricases. The COMELEC has the authority to issue the extraordinary writsof certiorari, prohibition and mandamus only in aid of its appellate

jurisdiction over decisions of the courts in election cases involving electivemunicipal officials.

Section 13. Preferential disposition of election contests. The courts shalgive preference to election contests over all other cases, except petitionsfor habeas corpus and for the writs of amparo and habeas data.RULE 15COSTS, DAMAGES AND ATTORNEYS FEESSection 1. Costs; when allowed. Costs shall be allowed to the prevailingparty as a matter of course. The court shall have the power, for specialreasons, to apportion the costs, as may be equitable. The court mayrender judgment for costs if a protest, a counter-protest or a petition forquo warranto is dismissed. When a protest, a counter-protest or a petitionfor quo warranto is found to be frivolous, double or treble costs may beimposed on the protestant, the counter-protestant or the petitioner.

Section 2. Damages and attorneys fees. In all election contests, thecourt may adjudicate damages and attorneys fees as it may deem justand as established by the evidence, if the aggrieved party has includedthese claims in the pleadings.RULE 16ELECTRONIC EVIDENCESection 1. Original of an electronic document or data. An electronicdocument or data shall be regarded as the equivalent of an originaldocument under the Best Evidence Rule if it is a printout or an outputreadable by sight or other means and shown to reflect the dataaccurately.Section 2. Copies as equivalent of the originals. When a document is intwo or more copies executed at or about the same time with identicalcontents, or is a counterpart produced by the same impression as theoriginal, or from the same matrix, or by mechanical or electronic re-recording, or by chemical reproduction, or by other equivalent techniquesthat accurately reproduce the original, such copies or duplicates shall be

regarded as the equivalent of the original.Notwithstanding the foregoing, copies or duplicates shall not beadmissible to the same extent as the original if:

a) a genuine question is raised as to the authenticity of theoriginal; orb) under the circumstances, it would be unjust or inequitable toadmit the copy in lieu of the original.

Section 3.Affidavit as evidence. All matters relating to the admissibilityand evidentiary weight of an electronic document may be established byan affidavit stating facts of direct personal knowledge of the affiant orbased on authentic records. The affidavit must affirmatively show thecompetence of the affiant to testify on the matters contained therein. Theaffiant shall be made to affirm the contents of the affidavit in open sessionand may be cross-examined as a matter of right by the adverse party.RULE 17

AUTHENTICATION OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS AND DATA

Section 1. Burden of proving authenticity. The person seeking tointroduce an electronic document in an election protest has the burden ofproving its authenticity in the manner provided in this Rule.Section 2. Manner of authentication. Before any electronic document ordata offered as authentic is received in evidence, its authenticity must beproved by any of the following means:

a) By evidence that it has been digitally signed by the personpurported to have signed it. "Digitally signed" refers to anelectronic document or electronic data message bearing adigital signature verified by the public key listed in a certificate.b) By evidence that other appropriate security procedures ordevices for authentication of electronic documents authorizedby the Supreme Court or by law for the authentication ofelectronic documents were applied to the document; orc) By other evidence showing its integrity and reliability to thesatisfaction of the judge.

Section 3. The Rules on Electronic Evidence. The Rules on Electronic

Evidence shall apply to evidentiary aspects of pleadings, practice andprocedure in election contests not otherwise specifically provided for inthese Rules.RULE 18FINAL PROVISIONSSection 1. Repealing clause. For municipal election contests, theserules supersede A.M. No. 07-4-15-SC (The Rules of Procedure InElection Contests Before The Courts Involving Municipal and BarangayOfficials) which became effective on May 15, 2007. All other rules,resolutions, regulations or circulars of the Supreme Court or parts thereofthat are inconsistent with any provision of these Rules are hereby deemedrepealed or modified accordingly.Section 2. Effectivity clause. These Rules shall take effect fifteen (15)days after their publication in a newspaper of general circulation in thePhilippines.


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Republic of the PhilippinesCOMMISSION ON ELECTIONS

Manila

IN RE: COMELEC RULES OF PROCEDURE ONDISPUTES IN AN AUTOMATED ELECTIONSYSTEM IN CONNECTION WITH THE MAY 10,2010 ELECTIONS

RESOLUTION No. 8804 March 22,2010

PART IINTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

Rule 1Preliminary Provisions

Section 1. Title of the Rules. - These rules shallbe known and called as The Comelec Rules ofProcedure on Disputes in an Automated

Election System.

Section 2. Applicability. - These rules shallapply to election disputes under theAutomated Election System (AES) using thePrecinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) and shallcover pre-proclamation controversies andelection protests.

Section 3. - Objective. - The objective of theseRules is to afford accessible and effectiveremedy to address complaints on the conduct

of elections relative to the use of PCOS AES inorder to make the election process credibleand the results thereof acceptable to thepeople.

Section 3. Application of the Rules of Court andother related rules. - The Commission onElections (COMELEC) Rules of Procedure, theRules of Court, and the Rules on ElectronicEvidence shall apply by analogy, or in asuppletory character, and whenevernecessary, practicable, and convenient.

Section 4. Suspension of the Rules. - In theinterest of justice and in order to obtainspeedy disposition of all matters pendingbefore it, these Rules or any portion thereof,may be suspended by the COMELEC.

Rule 2Definition of Terms

Section 1. Meaning of Words. - Whenever used

in these Rules, the following words or termsshall mean:

a) Commission shall refer either to theCommission en banc or to any of its twoDivisions, unless otherwise indicated.

b)Automated Election

System orAES refers to an electionsystem using appropriate technology, invoting, counting, consolidating,canvassing, transmission of electionresults, and other electoral processes.

c) Precinct Count OpticalScan, or PCOS, means a technologywherein an optical ballot scanner, intowhich optical scan paper ballots markedby hand by the voter are inserted to becounted, is located in every precinct;

d) Official ballotrefers to the paperballot with the pre-printed names of allcandidates and with ovals correspondingto each of the names printed. The ovalsare the spaces where voters expresstheir choice through marking or shadingusing a marking pen.

e) Picture Image of the Ballotrefers tothe image of the ballot captured by thePCOS machine at the time the voter

feeds his/her ballots, which image islater stored in a memory or removabledata storage device attached to thePCOS machines.

f) Election Returns refers to thedocument showing the data of theelection, the province, city, municipalityand the precinct in which it is held, andthe votes in figures for each candidatein a precinct or clustered precincts.

g) Electronic Election Returns refers tothe copy of the election return inelectronic form generated by the PCOSmachine that is electronicallytransmitted to the Municipal or CityBoard of Canvassers for the officialcanvass, to the COMELEC Back-UpServer, and to the Server for thedominant majority and dominantminority parties, the citizens' armauthorized by the COMELEC to conduct


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a parallel count, and the Kapisanan ngmga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas or KBP;

h) Printed Election Returns refers to thecopy of the election returns printed bythe PCOS machine on a paper, andauthenticated by the manual signaturesand thumbmarks of the members of theBoard of Election Inspectors (BEI).

i) Electronic Transmission refers to theact of conveying data in electronic formfrom one location to the other.

j) Canvass Proceedings refers to theproceedings that involve theconsolidation of precinct election resultsat the municipal, city of district level;district election results at the municipalor city level; municipal or city election

results at the provincial level; andprovincial election results at the nationallevel, be it the COMELEC or Congress. Italso include the formal proclamation ofthe election winners at the variouscanvass levels.

k) Consolidation Machine refers to themachine used at the canvassproceedings to consolidate precinctresults, municipal and city results,provincial results, as the case may be,

for purposes of getting the total votes ofall candidates at a particular canvasslevel.

l) Statement of Votes by Precinct,Municipality, City, District, Province, orOverseas Absentee Voting (OAV)Station refers to a document inelectronic and in printed form generatedby the canvassing or consolidatingmachines or computers during thecanvass proceedings. This document

records the votes obtained bycandidates in each precinct,municipality, city, district, province, orOAV Station, as the case may be.

m) City/municipal/district/provincialcertificate of canvass refers to adocument in electronic and in printedform containing the total votes in figuresobtained by each candidates in acity/municipality/district/province, as the

case may be, the electronic form ofwhich is the official canvass result in theaforementioned jurisdictions and is theone electronically transmitted to ahigher canvass level.

n) Certificate of Canvass andProclamation refers to the officialdocument in printed form that containsthe name of all candidates who obtainthe higher number of votes in aparticular constituency and certifies tosaid candidates' proclamation aswinners

o) Data Storage Device refers to thedevice where electronic documents arestored and from which said data may beobtained when necessary to verify theaccuracy and correctness of election

data. It includes the back-up storagedevice in which authentic electroniccopies of said data are also stored.

p)Audit Log refers to the document thatcontains the list of all activitiesperformed by the PCOS machines fromthe time that it was powered-on, untilthe time when closed.

q) Electronic documentrefers toinformation or the representation of

information, data, figures, symbols orother modes of written expression,described or however represented, bywhich a fact may be proved andaffirmed, which is received, recorded,transmitted, stored processed, retrieveor produced electronically. It includesdigitally signed documents and anyprint-out or output, readable by sight orother means, which accurately reflectsthe electronic document.

For purposes of these Rules, electronicdocuments refer to either the picture image ofthe ballots and electronic copies of the electionreturns, of statements of votes, of certificatesof canvass, and or the other electronic datarelative to the processing done by the PCOSmachines and the various consolidationmachines.

PART IIPRE-PROCLAMATION CONTROVERSIES


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Rule 3Coverage of Pre-Proclamation Controversies

Section 1. Pre-Proclamation Controversy. - Apre-proclamation controversy refers to theproceedings of the board of canvassers whichmay be raised by any candidates or by anyregistered political party or coalition of politicalparties, or by any accredited and participatingparty list group, before the board or directlywith the Commission. It covers only two issues:

a. Illegal composition of the Board ofCanvassers (BOC);

b. Illegal proceedings of the BOC.

The basis of the canvass shall be electronicallytransmitted results.

Section 2. Jurisdiction of the Commission inPre-Proclamation Controversies. - COMELEChas exclusive jurisdiction in pre-proclamationcontroversies arising from national, regional prlocal elections.

A pre-proclamation controversy may be raisedby any candidate or by any registered politicalparty, organization, or coalition of politicalparties before the BOC, or directly with theCommission.

Issues affecting the composition orproceedings of the Boards may be initiated byfiling a verified petition before the Board ordirectly with the Commission.

If the petition is filed directly with the Board,its decision may be appealed to theCommission within three (3) days fromissuance thereof. However, if commenceddirectly with the Commission, the verifiedpetition shall be filed immediately when theboard begins to act illegally, or at the time of

the appointment of the member of the boardwhose capacity to sit as such is objected to.

Section 3. Rights of Political Parties andCandidates Before the Board of Canvassers inPre-Proclamation Cases. -

a) All registered political parties,organizations, or coalitions of politicalparties, and accredited citizens' arms,and candidates, have the right to be

present and to be represented bycounsel during the canvass of electionreturns, or certificates of canvass.

b) Only one counsel may argue for eachregistered political party, organization,or coalition of political parties,accredited citizens' arm or candidate.

c) No dilatory action shall be allowed bythe BOC. It may impose time limits fororal arguments.

d) All registered political parties,organizations, or coalitions of politicalparties, and candidates, are entitled toobtain a copy of the Statement of Votesper precinct and a copy of the certificateof canvass duly authenticated by theBOC.

Rule 4Illegal Composition or Proceedings of the Board

of Canvassers

Section 1. Illegal Composition of the Board ofCanvassers. - There is illegal composition ofthe BOC when, among other similarcircumstances, any of the members do notpossess legal qualifications and appointments.

The information technology capable personrequired to assist the BOC by Republic Act No.

9369 shall be included as among those whoselack of qualifications may be questioned.

Section 2. Illegal Proceedings of the Board ofCanvassers. - There is illegal proceedings ofthe BOC when the canvassing is a sham ormere ceremony, the results of which are pre-determined and manipulated as when any ofthe following circumstances are present:

a) precipitate canvassing;

b) terrorism;

c) lack of sufficient notice to themembers of the BOC's;

d) Improper venue

Section 3. Where and How Commenced. -Questions affecting the composition orproceedings of the BOC may be initiated in theBOC or directly with the Commission, with a


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verified petition, clearly stating the specificground/s for the illegality of the compositionand/or proceedings of the board.

Section 4. When to File Petition. - The petitionquestioning the illegality, or the compositionand/or proceedings of the BOC shall be filedimmediately when the BOC begins to act assuch is objected to, if it comes after thecanvassing of the Board, or immediately whenthe proceedings become illegal.

a) In case the petition is filed before theBOC:

a.1) Upon receipt of the verifiedpetition, the BOC shallimmediately announce the fact ofthe filing of said petition and theground/s raised therein.

a.2) The BOC shall immediatelydeliberate on the petition, andwithin a period of twenty-four (24)hours, make a prompt resolutionthereon, which resolution shall bereduced into writing.

a.3) Should the BOC decide infavor of the petition, it shallimmediately inform theCommission of its resolution.

Thereafter, the Commission shallmake the appropriate actionthereon.

a.4) In no case shall the receiptby the BOC of the electronicallytransmitted precinct, municipal,city, or provincial results, besuspended by the filing of saidpetition.

a.5) The petitioner may appeal an

adverse resolution by the BOC tothe COMELEC, by notifying theBOC of his or her intent to appeal,through a verbal, and a writtenand verified Notice of Appeal. Thenotice on the BOC shall notsuspend the formal proclamationof the official results of theelection, until the final resolutionof the appeal.

a.6) Within forty-eight (48) hoursfrom such notice to the BOC, thepetitioner shall submit before theBoard a Memorandum on Appealstating the reasons why heresolution being questioned iserroneous and should bereversed.

a.7) Upon receipt by the BOC ofthe petitioner's memorandum onappeal, the Board shall forwardthe entire records of the petitionat the expense of the petitioner.

a.8) Upon receipt of the recordsherein referred to, the petitionshall be docketed by the Clerk ofCommission and submitted to theCOMELEC en banc for

consideration and decision.

a.9) Within five (5) daystherefrom the COMELEC en bancshall render its decision on theappeal.

b) If filed directly with the Commission,the petition shall be heard by theCOMELEC en banc under the followingprocedures. Upon receipt of the petitionby the COMELEC, the Clerk of the

Commission shall docket the same andforthwith send summons to the BOCconcerned with an order directing it tosubmit, through the fastest verifiablemeans available, its answer within forty-eight (48) hours.

The COMELEC en banc shall resolve thepetition within five (5) days from the filing ofthe answer, or upon the expiration of theperiod to file the same.

Section 6. Illegal Proceedings Discovered afterProclamation. - If the illegality of theproceedings of the BOC is discovered after theofficial proclamation of the supposed results, averified petition to annual the proclamationmay be filed before COMELEC within ten (10)days after the day of proclamation. Uponreceipt of the verified petition, the Clerk of theCommission shall have the same docketed andforthwith issue summons to the parties to beaffected by the petition, with a directive for the


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latter to file their answer within five (5) daysfrom receipt. Thereafter the case shall bedeemed submitted for resolution, which shallnot be later seven (7) days from receipt of theanswer.

Rule 5Canvass on Manually Prepared Election

Returns

Section 1. Canvass of Manually PreparedElection Returns. - If by reason of theimplementation of a continuity plan, electionreturns and/or certificate of canvass aremanually prepared and transported to the BOCfor canvass, said continuity plan together withthe General Instructions for the Board ofCanvassers shall primarily apply,supplemented whenever applicable, by theregular COMELEC Rules of Procedure and these

rules.

PART IIIELECTION PROTEST

Rule 6Election Protest

Section 1. Jurisdiction of the Commission onElections. - The Commission on Elections,through any of its Divisions, shall haveexclusive original jurisdiction over all election

protests involving elective regional (theautonomous regions), provincial, and cityofficials.

Section 2. Election protest. - A petitioncontesting the elections or returns of anelective regional, provincial, or city officialshall be filed with the Commission by anycandidate who was voted for in the same officeand who received the second of third highestnumber of votes or, in a multi-slot position,was among the next four candidates following

the last ranked winner duly proclaimed, asreflected in the official results of the electioncontained in the Statement of Votes. The partyfiling the protest shall be designated as theprotestant; the adverse party shall be knownas the protestee.

Section 3. How Initiated. - An election protestor petition for quo warranto shall be fileddirectly with the Commission in ten (10) legiblecopies plus such number of copies

corresponding to the number of protestees,within a non-extendible period of ten daysfollowing the date of proclamation.

Each contest shall refer exclusively to oneoffice but contents for offices of theSangguniang Pampook, SangguniangPanlalawigan or Sangguniang Panglungsodmay be consolidated in one case.

Section 4. Modes of service and filing. - Serviceand filing of pleadings, including the initiatorypetition and other papers, shall be donepersonally. Except with respect to papersemanating from the Commission, a resort toother modes of service must be accompaniedby a written explanation why the service orfiling was not done personally. A violation ofthis Rule shall be a cause to consider thepleading or paper as not filed.

Section 5. Petition must be verified andaccompanied by a certificate of non-forumshopping. - An election protest shall be verifiedby an affidavit stating that the affiant has readthe petition and that the allegations thereinare true and correct of affiant's own knowledgeor based on authentic records. A verificationbased on"information and belief" or uponthe "knowledge, information and belief" is nota sufficient verification.

The protestant shall personally sign thecertificate of non-forum shopping which mustbe annexed to the election protest. Anunverified petition or one with insufficientverification or unaccompanied by a certificateof non-forum shopping shall be dismissedoutright and shall not suspend the running ofthe reglementary period to file an electionprotest.

Section 6. Pendency of pre-proclamationcontroversy. - The pendency of a pre-

proclamation controversy involving the validityof the proclamation as defined by law shallsuspend the running of the period to file anelection protest.

Section 7. Contests of the protest or petition. -An election protest or petition for quo warrantoshall specifically state the following facts:

a) The position involved


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b) That the protestant was a candidatewho has duly filed a certificate ofcandidacy and has been voted for thesame office.

c) The date of proclamation; and

d) The number of votes credited to the

parties per proclamation.

An election

Documents

Election Sept9