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PET Case No. 003.
LOREN B. LEGARDA vs. NOLI L. DE CASTRO
Tribunal
Sirs/Mesdames:
Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this
Tribunal dated
"PET Case No. 003 (Loren B. Legarda vs. Noli L. de Castro)
The Tribunal Resolved to
(a) GRANT the Joint Motion/Manifestation filed by counsels for protestant and protestee, praying for an extension of four (4) days or until July 31, 2006 within which to submit the suggested names of the Hearing Commissioner and the draft rules of procedure;
(b) NOTE and ACCEPT the Explanation dated
(c) NOTE the
Compliance/Joint Manifestation dated
(d) NOTE and APPROVE for the present case only the aforesaid Supplementary Rules on Reception of Evidence, to wit:
Proposed Supplementary Rules on Reception of Evidence
A. Hearing Commissioner -
1. Designation.- The Tribunal may delegate the reception of evidence to a Hearing Commissioner who may be a Member of the Tribunal or an official of the Tribunal who is a member of the Philippine Bar or a retired Justice of the Supreme Court who is willing to accept the designation.
2. Preliminary Conference.- Upon the designation of the Hearing Commissioner and before the commencement of the actual presentation of evidence, a preliminary conference shall be set.
B. Order of Hearing -
Unless the Tribunal directs otherwise, the order of hearing shall be as follows:
1. Presentation of Evidence on the First Aspect of the Protest - Re: Retabulation of Election Returns and Transposition of Election Return Results to Subsequent Election Documents such as the Statement of Votes by PRECINCT ["SOV-P] and the Certificates of Canvass ["COC"]:
[a] The protestant shall adduce her evidence, both testimonial and/or documentary. Protestee shall be entitled to confront the witnesses and object to the evidence adduced by protestant.
[b] After the termination of the presentation of evidence, protestant shall make her formal offer in support of the First Aspect of her protest. Protestee shall be given a period of ten (10) days within which to make his comment or opposition thereto.
[c] After the Tribunal has ruled on the Formal Offer, protestee shall adduce his evidence. Protestant shall be entitled to confront the witnesses and object to the evidence adduced by protestee.
[d] Then, protestee shall make his own formal offer in support of his defenses and counterclaim, if any, on the First Aspect of the protest. Protestant shall be given a period of ten (10) days within which to make her comment or opposition thereto. The Tribunal will thereafter rule on protestee's Formal Offer.
[e] Protestant, subject to the approval of the Tribunal, may then present rebuttal evidence. Protestee may then present sur-rebuttal evidence.
2. Reception of Evidence on the Second Aspect - Re: Revised Ballots
[a] Simultaneous with or after the termination of the presentation of evidence on the First Aspect of the protest, the parties may agree to commence with the reception of evidence on the Second Aspect of the protest.
[b] The parties agree that the principal evidence on the Second Aspect shall consist of the Revision Reports, as well as the ballots contested and claimed by either of the parties, as the primary evidence. The Revision Report need not be photocopied by the parties for purposes of submission to the Tribunal.
[c] The Tribunal may allow the photographing or photocopying of ballots, and even election returns and/or other related election documents upon motion of any of the parties, identifying or specifying the precinct, municipality, city or province concerned, without prejudice to the objection of the other party on valid grounds. In which case, the motion shall be ruled upon by the Tribunal.
Only ballots objected to and/or claimed by the requesting party as well as the Minutes of Voting and Counting of Votes in the precincts where the ballots belong may be photographed/photocopied unless, for meritorious reasons cited in the motion, the Tribunal allows other documents to be photographed/photocopied.
The photographing/photocopying of ballots objected to and/or claimed by the other party, as allowed above, shall be done within Tribunal premises or such other place as the Tribunal may designate, under the supervision of the Clerk of the Tribunal or her duly authorized representative.
The party concerned shall provide his/her own photographing or reproduction equipment and shall bear all expenses relating to said photographing/photocopying.
C. Parties Documentary Evidence -
The election returns and all other pertinent documents retrieved from the House of Representatives and currently in the custody and possession of the Tribunal may be adopted and submitted as documentary evidence by any of the parties. When necessary these documents may be photographed/photocopied and/or reproduced by the parties for purposes of submission to the Tribunal or for their own use as guide in the preparation and submission of their respective Memoranda.
The parties may produce such other documentary evidence as they may deem necessary, to show and prove their case or in support of their manifestations, comments and/or objections made or interposed during the retabulation proceedings. The production of such documentary evidence or introduction thereof as part of a party's evidence shall be without prejudice to any objection that may be interposed by the other party on grounds provided for by the Rules of the Tribunal and the Rules of Court which is applied in a suppletory character in the instant case.
D. Withdrawal of Precincts/Municipalities -
During the course of the reception of evidence of the party concerned but prior to the submission of the formal offer of evidence, a party may cause the withdrawal of some contested precincts or even municipalities.
(e) REQUIRE the protestee to COMMENT on the following proposed names of the Hearing Commissioner within a NON-EXTENDIBLE period of five (5) days from notice hereof:
Mr. Justice Josue Bellosillo
Mr. Justice Vicente Mendoza
Mr. Justice Jose Melo
Mr. Justice Jose Vitug
Mr. Justice Bernardo Pardo
Mr. Justice Santiago Kapunan
(f) NOTE the Comment (Re: [1] Very Urgent Motion for the Return of the 35 Ballot Boxes of Carmen, Cebu, subject of Election Case EP-2004-03, to the Regional Trial Court of Danao City; and [2] Motion to be Allowed to Conduct Revision of Ballots), filed by counsel for protestee in compliance with the resolution of July 11, 2006;
(g) DENY the aforesaid Very Urgent Motion for the Return of the 35 Ballot Boxes of Carmen, Cebu, subject of Election Case EP-2004-03, to the Regional Trial Court of Danao City;
(h) GRANT the aforesaid Motion to be Allowed to Conduct Revision of Ballots filed by counsel for Doroteo M. Salazar, protestant-counterprotestee in Sp. Proc. Case No. 1603-MAN (Doroteo M. Salazar vs. Lety V. Mancio), which revision shall be conducted in the PET premises and under PET supervision;
(i) INFORM the parties in Sp. Proc. Case No. 1603-MAN that they may start the revision of ballots within thirty (30) days from notice hereof, bringing with them their own revision team; and
(j) DENY the request of Ms. Rosa Bella Quindoza, Research Program Officer, Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, for copies of all Court resolutions relative to this case, as she is not a party hereto."
Very truly yours,
(Sgd.) MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA
Clerk of the Tribunal
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