| |
.
. |
|
HRET
conducts Biliran recount proceedings
|
|
from
NAMFREL Election Monitor Vol.2, No.8
|
|
. |
The House of Representatives Electoral
Tribunal started on April 27 the recount proceedings for the
congressional race in the lone district of Biliran (it finished the
following day). In the May 2010 election, former governor Roger
Espina won by only 360 votes over his opponent, former Rep. Glenn
Chong.
The recount was prompted by the electoral protest filed by Chong,
who reportedly accused Espina of rigging the congressional elections
in the province by allegedly using a secret precinct count optical
scan (PCOS) machine, a charge the lawmaker strongly denied and
described as “ridiculous.” Rep. Espina (Liberal Party) currently
chairs the House Committee on Population and Family Relations.
The HRET manual revision process covered only 42 pilot clustered
precincts, or 25% of the total number of precincts involved in the
protest (HRET rules) -- in this case all 166 total clustered in the
province of Biliran. A more detailed explanation of the Biliran case
can be read in Biliran Blogs (http://biliranisland.com/blogs/?
p=2783). At the conclusion of the revision process, the results in
the precincts covered reportedly remain unchanged.
It was the HRET's first recount proceeding under the new election
process; the case is one of 48 electoral protests filed before the
Tribunal in connection with the May automated elections. The HRET is
composed of nine members, three of whom are Supreme Court justices
while the remaining six are House members chosen on the basis of
proportional representation from the political parties and the
parties or organizations registered under the party-list system. The
chairperson of the Tribunal is Supreme Court Associate Justice
Conchita Carpio
Morales, and the members are: Supreme Court Associate Justices
Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura and Arturo D. Brion, Rep. Rodolfo B.
Albano, Jr., Rep. Franklin P. Bautista, Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez,
Rep. Joselito Andrew R. Mendoza, Rep, Justin Marc SB. Chipeco and
Rep. Ma. Theresa B. Bonoan-David.
The cost of the electoral protest against Espina was reportedly
bankrolled by ordinary citizens in Biliran. According to a report in
the Philippine Daily Inquirer in February (http://bit.ly/lbFLRG), a
group called "Manual Recount Fund-Raising Campaign for Truth and
Justice" pooled resources and sought contributions from businessmen,
"fish vendors, pedicab drivers, students, young professionals and
ordinary citizens" to raise money for the electoral process.
HRET denies NAMFREL request
NAMFREL wrote the HRET to be allowed to observe and document the
recount proceedings to help ensure that the process will be
transparent, credible, and acceptable to the parties concerned.
However, in a resolution released by the Tribunal, signed by
Associate Justice Eduardo Nachura, the request to observe was
denied, saying that "the Tribunal strictly limits access to the
revision area only to those persons directly involved in the
proceedings." It also says that "the conduct of the revision meets
the standards of transparency, credibility and acceptability to the
parties concerned, considering that both protestant and protestee
are ably represented by
their respective counsels and party revisors." You may read the
resolution here: http://scr.bi/lck8Sg. |
|
. |
| |
.
.
. |
|
| |
| |
|
|
