The Commission on Elections Second Division has ordered the dismissal of the election protest filed by former Pasig City Mayor Robert “Bobby” Eusebio against incumbent Mayor Vico Sotto.
In the order dated August 30, the poll body found the election protest “insufficient in form and content.”
“The Commission finds the election protest to be insufficient in form and content as it failed to reflect a detailed specification of the acts or omissions complained of showing the electoral frauds, anomalies or irregularities in the protested precincts,” read the order.
“Wherefore, premises considered, the instant election protest is hereby dismissed,” it further read.
To note, Sotto won against Eusebio in the May 2019 midterm polls.
The division said Eusebio was unable to provide the votes of the parties in all protested clustered precincts despite existing rules requiring the votes of the parties per protested precinct to be indicated in the protest.
“Protestee’s argument that Protestant should have taken the votes of the parties from the election returns deserves scant consideration as the rules requires the votes of the parties in the protested clustered precincts,” the order read.
As to the allegation of the protestant that there are 106 reported clustered precincts that suffered vote-counting machine malfunctions, the poll body said protestant failed to reflect in the election protest if said malfunctions and irregularities translated to the protestant losing votes and protestee gaining votes.
Sotto’s camp, meantime, welcomed the decision of the poll body.
“The order of the comelec is a welcome development in our electoral process since the early resolution of protest cases, especially when the vote-lead of the winner is insurmountable as in this case, will surely insure political stability in the concerned local govt unit,” lawyer Romulo Macalintal, Sotto’s counsel, said in a statement.
“Sotto led by 87,500 which is indeed overwhelming and impossible to be overtaken by a recount of the ballots,” he added.
The order was signed by Second Division Presiding Commissioner Luie Guia and members Commissioners Socorro Inting and Antonio Kho. (Leslie Ann Aquino)
