Noli wants contested ballots examined first

Vice President Noli de Castro asked the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday to allow his own revisers to examine the 2004 election ballots before they are turned over to the revisers of his opponent in that contested race, Sen. Loren Legarda.

In a three-page motion filed through his lawyer Alberto Agra, De Castro also asked the high court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), to permit Legarda’s revisers to examine her ballots before they are turned over to his revisers.

"It is most respectfully moved that this Honorable Tribunal allow protestee’s revisers to examine the ballots of the protestee before they are turned over to the protestant’s revisers and permit protestant’s revisers to examine the ballots of the protestant before they are turned over the protestee’s revisers if they so desire," De Castro said.

De Castro cited Section 4 of the "Instructions on the Revision of Contested Ballots," which provides that after the ballots for the protestant and protestee have been segregated, the ballots for the protestant shall be turned over to the protestee’s revisers and that ballots for protestee shall be given to the protestant’s revisers.

While the same set of instructions is followed in the revision of ballots before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), revisers of each party are nonetheless given a brief period to examine the ballots of the party they represent.

They are not, however, allowed to formally register any observation relative to their own ballots.

"This procedure is permitted to allow each party to determine if the integrity of their ballots is intact and has not been compromised and for one party to have bases to refute later on the objections made by the other," De Castro said.

In her protest, Legarda maintained that there were errors made in the tabulation of ballots and massive cheating during the May 2004 elections. She also charged De Castro with benefiting from the "dagdag-bawas" (vote padding-shaving) operations.

Proof of this, she said, was the discovery of more polling precincts in Balindong, Lanao del Sur.

The PET is presently conducting a recount of election returns from Lanao del Sur, which form part of the electoral protest filed by Legarda against De Castro.