HRET denies appeal of Garcia to move date to collect ballots

CEBU, Philippines - The House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) denied the urgent motion to defer collection of ballot boxes and election documents filed by third district Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia last November 15, 2013.

HRET earlier scheduled November 18, 2013 as the start of the retrieval of ballot boxes and other documents related to the election protest filed by defeated congressional candidate, former Pinamungajan Mayor Geraldine Yapha, against Garcia.

Garcia requested to defer the collection of ballot boxes to December 2, 2013 since no one from her camp will be available to attend the scheduled collection of ballot boxes as all her staff are deployed at typhoon-affected areas to provide assistance in relief operations.

HRET chairperson, Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., in an order dated November 18, 2013, said that the Tribunal requires only one representative and one alternate to the said collection proceedings.

“While the Tribunal recognizes the widespread effects of typhoon Yolanda and the need for government units to provide relief and rehabilitation services to affected areas, the disposition of election protests at the shortest possible time is also a primordial concern considering that the term of a Member of the House of Representatives is only three (3) years,” Velasco stated.

Velasco added that the Tribunal also believes that sending even just one representative to the collection proceedings will not cripple the humanitarian efforts being undertaken by Garcia and her staff.

“Without prejudice to our legal remedies against the order denying our urgent motion, Cong. Garcia is constrained to engage at the last minute a third party representative and a lawyer to attend collection of ballot boxes,” said lawyer Christina Codilla-Frasco, the daughter of Garcia.

The retrieval of ballot boxes started last Monday after HRET ordered the immediate collection of ballot boxes of 434 clustered precincts involved in the election protest of Yapha against Garcia.

Yapha filed the protest and asked HRET for a recount of votes following the unaccounted 41,858 stray ballots in the entire third district.

Yapha lost by 1,984 votes based on the final and official results, garnering 103,440 votes against Garcia’s 105,424 votes.

Garcia, a former governor of Cebu, is among the 33 House members who are facing election protests before the HRET.

Garcia ran under One Cebu Party allied with Vice President Jejomar Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) while Yapha was the candidate of President Benigno Aquino’s Liberal Party (LP). — (FREEMAN)