SC creates special election courts for 2016 polls

MANILA, Philippines – To ensure a speedy and efficient administration of justice, the Supreme Court (SC) has created special courts to resolve election cases involving local elective posts.

In an order promulgated on Sept. 24, the high court designated 112 regional trial courts (RTC) in 12 judicial regions all over the country to “exclusively and speedily hear, try and decide election protests and petitions for disqualification involving elective municipal officials.”

The SC said all other election-related cases would be raffled off among the regular courts.

It said the special courts would only be allowed to hear petitions for writs of habeas corpus, habeas data and amparo, which were originally designed to resolve the cases of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances.

The SC said the special courts would be excluded in the raffle of new cases, particularly when the case-loads of these courts prevent them from conducting trials on election contests.

In the National Capital Judicial Region, the Pasig City RTC Branch 262 was designated as the lone special election court.

The order was signed by Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr.

Sereno earlier said the SC expects election cases to flood the courts after the filing next month of the certificates of candidacy for the next year’s elections.

She said the high court is working on setting up training programs for judges designated to election courts.

The SC chief vowed to expedite the resolution of all pending election cases from the May 2013 polls, which included the election protest of former interior secretary Mar Roxas against Vice President Jejomar Binay filed with the Presidential Electoral Tribunal. – With Sheila Crisostomo