HRET junks poll protest vs Treñas

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  — The House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) has junked the election protest filed by former representative Raul Gonzalez Jr. against Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas for lack of merit.

The HRET decision, promulgated last March 15, dismissed the protest without further proceedings and confirming the proclamation of Treñas as the duly elected congressman of the city’s lone district during the May 10, 2010 automated elections.

“The tribunal dismisses the instant election protest without further proceedings for lack of merit,” said the decision penned by Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr.

On May 14, 2010, Treñas was declared winner in the congressional elections after garnering 101,304 ballots against Gonzalez’s 76,478, or a difference of 24,826 votes.

Gonzalez filed a protest 10 days later contesting the votes from all 344 clustered precincts. In HRET Case No. 10-043, his verified petition contesting the results were based on the following grounds:

The compact flash cards may have been switched or pre-programmed in favor of Treñas; more than half of the compact flash cards were transported illegally from the precincts to the board of canvassers; PCOS machines misread the ballots; questionable election returns, and election returns from Brgy. Obrero National High School were printed as early as December 2009.

The HRET however found no evidence from Gonzalez to prove the allegations. “Taking into consideration the evidence presented, there is no reasonable recovery in favor of protestant as shown and established from the initial revision of ballots in the pilot protested clustered precincts,” said the HRET’s decision.

After the recount, the HRET instead found an additional 159 votes for Treñas, raising his winning margin of votes to 24,985 against Gonzalez. (FREEMAN)