PNA file photo
MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has resolved the election protest over the congressional position in Zamboanga del Norte’s First District Representative, ruling for the proclamation of Roberto “Pinpin” T. Uy Jr. as the 2022 winner.
The decision, made during the SC en banc deliberations on Tuesday and written by Justice Mario V. Lopez, resolved the consolidated petitions filed by Uy, Frederico P. Jalosjos, and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the High Tribunal said in a statement on Wednesday.
It also annulled the Comelec proclamation of another candidate, Romeo “Kuya Jonjon” M. Jalosjos, Jr., the statement said.
Uy, Romeo Jalosjos, Frederico “Kuya Jan” Jalosjos, and Richard Amazon were the candidates for the post.
The statement noted that on the election day, Uy received 69,591 votes; R. Jalosjos, 69,109 votes; F. Jalosjos, 5,424 votes; and Amazon, 288 votes.
Romeo Jalosjos, who filed a suit before Comelec to request that the other Jalosjos be declared as a "nuisance candidate", filed a separate motion to suspend the proclamation of Uy as the winner, claiming that he won the elections since the votes for F. Jalosjos must be credited to him.
In ruling for the Uy case, the Court said the poll body ”motu proprio (by itself) ordered the suspension of his (Uy’s) proclamation even though the PBOC (Provincial Board of Canvassers) had clear basis to proclaim Uy as the winning candidate, having garnered the highest number of votes."
“The Court also noted there were several irregularities in the Comelec En Banc’s suspension order, with the copy sent by electronic mail to the PBOC in advance, undated, and lacking the complete signatures of the Comelec members as well as a certification and a notice signed by the Comelec’s Clerk of Court,” the ruling stated.
"The Court also found irregular that the Comelec chairperson intervened in the proclamation by calling directly the PBOC Chairperson," it added.
The Court further ruled that the poll body’s power to suspend the proclamation of a winning candidate is not available in proceedings to declare someone a nuisance candidate.
It added that the Comelec abused its discretion when it suspended Uy’s proclamation, a proceeding where Uy is not a party, and was, thus, denied the opportunity to be heard. (PNA)
