SC finalizes poll protest rules

The sub-committee created by the Supreme Court to propose amendments to election rules held its preliminary meeting yesterday and vowed to meet daily to beat the April 20 deadline set by Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

Lawyer Romulo Macalintal, a member of the committee, said that Puno wants the proposals finalized by April 20 so the amendments can be used to handle election protests and election-related cases after the May 14 polls.

According to Macalintal, election protests are filed 10 days after an election, so cases are expected to be filed on May 24, 25 and 26.

He said the committee will be ready with the draft of the proposed amendments by next week.

The SC had designated former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Bernardo Pardo as head of the SC sub-committee under the Committee on the Revision of the Rules of Courts.

Aside from Macalintal, retired Court of Appeals justice Oscar Herrera Sr., who authored a six-volume treatise on remedial law; Court of Appeals Justice Remedios Salazar-Fernando, also a former Comelec commissioner; and election lawyers Sixto Brillantes, Pete Quadra and Leila de Lima were also designated as members of the sub-committee.

Named sub-committee and assistant secretary of the committee are Douglas Anama and Ma. Emelita de Guzman, respectively. – Mike Frialde