Browse > Home / Misamis Oriental / Supreme Court junks Pates vs. El Salvador Mayor Almirante electoral protest case

Supreme Court junks Pates vs. El Salvador Mayor Almirante electoral protest case

December 8, 2008

By Lizanilla J. Amarga

The Supreme Court has now junked the petition that would install Nilo Pates as the city mayor of El Salvador , Misamis Oriental.

In an en banc decision, the Supreme Court said the petition to reverse the ruling of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) favoring incumbent mayor Emelita Almirante was filed out of time.

It cited how the petition for certiorari against the poll body was filed beyond the reglementary period fixed under the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure particularly Rule 64, Section 3 governing review of judgments and final orders or resolution of the Comelec.

“Only petitions which are accompanied by or which comply strictly with the requirements specified therein shall be entertained,” the Supreme Court said in its decision dated Nov. 11, 2008.

This paper failed to contact Pates for his side but sources close to the former mayoral candidate disclosed that they are now mapping out moves to file a motion for reconsideration in the hopes of reversing the High Tribunal’s decision.

They cited how the case docketed as G.R. No. 184915 entitled “Nilo T. Pates vs. Commission on Elections and Emelita B. Almirante” involves the will of the people and thus, the technicality of it being filed out of time should be set aside.

Also, they cited how last Oct. 22, 2008, Pates’ lawyer Atty. Wilfredo Labuntog has already submitted a letter with the postal money order with the amount of P6,000.00 for the docket, filing and other legal fees.

Still, El Salvador mayor Emelita Baculio-Almirante through her brother former Misamis Oriental Second District congressman Atty. Augusto Baculio, Jr. and her son Atty. Carlo Antonio Almirante separately issued statements that they expected the decision of the Supreme Court.

Also, Baculio said it was “close to impossible” that the Supreme Court would reverse the decision of the Comelec.

He said this as he explained that the Constitution has clearly given the Comelec the power to decide factual issues particularly when it comes to election controversies.

Baculio said the Supreme Court can only review on whether the poll body committed any grave error.

“But we won already at the Comelec Division level and at the Comelec En Banc level, so we already expected to win at the Supreme Court,” he told Gold Star Daily.

During the May 2007 Elections, Almirante was proclaimed as the winner of the mayoral race in El Salvador against Pates by a margin of 211 votes.

Pates filed an election protest case against Almirante which was raffled to the sala of Regional Trial Court Branch 41 presiding judge Jeoffrey Acebedo.

Judge Acebedo ruled in favor of Pates but Almirante filed an appeal to the Comelec division which ruled in her favor as well as the Comelec En Banc.

Pates moved to reverse the Comelec’s decision at the Supreme Court and this was docketed as G.R. No. 184915 entitled “Nilo T. Pates vs. Commission on Elections and Emelita B. Almirante” which the Supreme Court has now dismissed.

Written by admin · Filed Under Misamis Oriental 

Comments

Got something to say?





Philippine Elections 2010

LIST OF CANDIDATES

Click this link to see all lists of candidates for the entire Philippines