Quezon lawmaker asks HRET to dismiss rival’s electoral protest

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan has asked the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) to dismiss the election protest filed against her by Wigberto Tañada Jr.

In a motion to dismiss she presented to the tribunal through her lawyer, Tan said Tañada’s protest is insufficient in form and substance and lacks merit as it does not allege irregularities in the conduct of the May 2013 election in their district.

“As defined by the Honorable Supreme Court, an election protest proposes to oust the winning candidate from office. It is strictly a contest between the defeated and winning candidates, based on the grounds of electoral frauds and irregularities. Its purpose is to determine who between them has actually obtained the highest number of legal votes cast and is entitled to hold office. It necessarily involves the appreciation of ballots or the number of votes of each candidate,” she said.

She said the loser must specify which precincts he was contesting and must detail the irregularities he was alleging.

However, Tan said in Tañada’s protest, there “are no allegations relating to the individual and clustered precincts and location of contested precincts, as well as specific acts or omissions constituting electoral frauds, anomalies or irregularities in the contested precincts.”

She added that what the loser was trying to prove was that the third placer, Alvin John Tañada, was declared a nuisance candidate by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), and that the more than 4,000 votes of the latter should be credited to him.

Tan, a doctor and a newcomer in Quezon politics, defeated Wigberto Tañada Jr. by fewer than 400 votes. The loser tried to succeed his brother, then incumbent Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III.

Tan told the HRET that Alvin John Tañada “was never declared a nuisance candidate by the Comelec.”

She said Alvin John Tañada’s certificate of candidacy “was cancelled not because he was declared a nuisance candidate but due to his misrepresentation on his residency.”

“Thus, as a consequence of such cancellation of his certificate of candidacy, all the votes cast for Alvin John Tañada are void ab initio (from the beginning), which means he was never a candidate in the elections at any time. Accordingly, all votes cast in his favor are stray votes and should not be counted for him nor for anybody else,” she said.

She cited at least two cases where the Supreme Court ordered that votes cast for candidates whose certificates of candidacy the Comelec had cancelled should be considered as stray votes.

Wigberto Tañada Jr. had tried but failed to stop Tan from assuming her congressional seat.

He elevated his case to the Supreme Court, but the SC, in a unanimous decision written by Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, ruled that it was the HRET that should handle and resolve his complaint.

“Case law states that the proclamation of a congressional candidate following the election divests the Comelec of jurisdiction over disputes relating to the election, returns and qualifications of proclaimed winner in favor of the HRET,” the SC said.

It said since Tan had been proclaimed, had taken her oath of office and had assumed her post, the SC “is now without jurisdiction to resolve the case at bar.”