Around 2,000 pending cases remain at Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is still facing a backlog of over 2,000 cases that have been pending since 2007 despite its recent decision to summarily dismiss nearly 2,000 overspending cases related to the 2010 and 2013 general elections.

“Almost 2,000,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said in Filipino in a television interview when asked how many cases remain pending in the commission as it recently dismissed 1,024 overspending cases in 2010 and 2013.

Garcia explained that the more than 2,000 pending cases are not only election offense cases, but also disqualification cases and election protests that were directly filed before the Comelec involving local government officials.

“The cases were filed with us directly, including numerous appeals on decisions from the municipal trial court and regional trial court on cases heard involving mayoral and vice mayoral positions, and sometimes even barangay positions,” he said.

The Comelec recently affirmed the recommendation of its law department, dismissing 437 and 489 overspending cases that were still pending preliminary investigation and resolution involving the 2010 and 2013 general elections, respectively.

It also dismissed 51 and 47 overspending cases that still have pending motions for recommendations in the 2010 and 2013 polls, respectively.