Article 105p. 105

OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE ELECTION LAWS, RULES AND PROCEDURES

1)

The

Director

of

the

Law

Department

of

the

Commission

in

cases

investigated

by

any

of

the

Commission lawyers or filed personnel, and

2) The State Prosecutor, Provincial Fiscal or City Fiscal,

as the case may be, pursuant to the continuing authority

provided for in Section 2 of this Rule.

Section 9. Duty of the Law Department, State

Prosecutor, Provincial or City Fiscal Upon Receipt of

Records. — (a) Within ten (10) days from receipt of the

records

stated

in

paragraph

(c) of the immediately

preceding section, the State Prosecutor, Provincial or City

Fiscal shall take appropriate action thereon, immediately

informing the parties of said action.

(b) In cases investigated by the lawyers or the field

personnel of the Commission, the Director of the Law

Department

shall

review

and

evaluate

the

recommendation of said legal officer, prepare a report

and

make

a

recommendation

to

the

Commission

affirming, modifying or reversing the same shall be

included in the agenda of the succeeding meeting en

banc of the Commission. If the Commission approves the

filing of an information in court against the respondent/s,

the Director of the Law Department shall prepare and

sign

the

information

for

immediate

filing

with the

appropriate court.

(c) In all other cases, if the recommendation to

dismiss or the resolution to file the case in court is

approved by State Prosecutor, Provincial or City Fiscal,

they shall likewise approve the Information prepared and

immediately cause its filing with the proper court.

(d) If the recommendation to dismiss is reversed on

the

ground that a probable cause exists, the State

Prosecutor, or the Provincial or City Fiscal, may, by himself

prepare and file the corresponding information against

the respondent or direct any of his assistants to do so

without conducting another preliminary investigation.

Section 10. Appeals from the Action of the State

Prosecution, Provincial or City Fiscal. — Appeals from

the resolution of the State Prosecutor, or Provincial or City

Fiscal

on

the

recommendation

or

resolution

of

investigating

officers

may

be

made

only

to

the

Commission within ten (10) days from receipt of the

resolution of said officials, provided, however that this

shall not divest the Commission of its power to motu

proprio review, revise, modify or reverse the resolution of

the

chief

state

prosecutor

and/or

provincial/city

prosecutors. The decision of the Commission on said

appeals shall be immediately executory and final.

Section 11. Duty of State Prosecutor, Provincial or

City Fiscal to Render Reports . — The State Prosecutor,

Provincial or City Fiscal shall, within five (5) days from the

rendition

of

their

resolution on recommendation or

resolution of investigating officers, make a written report

thereof to the Commission. They shall likewise submit a

monthly report on the status of cases filed with and/or

prosecuted by them or any of their assistants pursuant to

the authority granted them under Section 2 of this Rule.

Section 12. Private Prosecutor. — The appearance of

a private prosecutor shall be allowed in cases where

private

rights

involving

recovery

of

civil

liability are

involved.

PART VI PROVISIONS GOVERNING ELECTION

CONTESTS AND QUO WARRANTO CASES

BEFORE TRIAL COURT

Rule 35 — Election Contests Before Courts of General

Jurisdiction.

Section 1. Original Jurisdiction of Regional Trial

Courts .

—

Regional

trial courts shall have exclusive

original jurisdiction over contests relating to the elections,

returns and qualifications involving elective municipal

officials.

Section 2. Filing of Election Contests . — A petition

contesting the election of any municipal official shall be

filed with the proper Regional Trial Court or mailed at the

post office as registered matter addressed to said Court,

together

with

six

(6) legible copies thereof, by any

candidate for the same office who has duly filed a

certificate

of

candidacy and who was voted in the

election. Each contest shall refer exclusively to one office,

but contests for offices of the Sangguniang Bayan may

be consolidated in one case.

Section 3. Period to File Petition. — The petition shall

be

filed

within

ten (10) days following the date of

proclamation of the results of the election.

Section 4. Designation of Parties . — The party

bringing the action shall be designated as the Protestant,

and the party against whom the action is brought shall

be designated as the Protestee.

Section 5. Duty of Clerk of Court to Issue Notice and

Serve Copy of Petition. — It shall be the duty of the Clerk

of Court of the trial court to serve notice and a copy of the

petition by means of summons upon each respondent

within five (5) days after the filing thereof.

Section 6. Petition to be Verified. — All petitions shall

be verified by the parties filing them or their attorneys.

Any

subsequent

pleading

based on facts which

ought to be proved shall likewise be verified.

Section

7.

Answer,

Reply,

Counter-Protest

and

Protest in Intervention. — (a) Within five (5) days after

receipt of notice of the filing of the petition and a copy of

the petition, the respondent shall file his answer thereto

specifying the nature of his defense, and serve a copy

thereof upon the protestant. The answer shall deal only

with the election in the precincts which are covered by

the allegations of the protest.

(b) Should the protestee desire to impugn the votes

received by the protestant in other precincts, he shall file

a counter-protest within the same period fixed for the

filing of the answer, serving a copy thereof upon the

protestant by registered mail or by personal delivery. In

such a case, the counter-protest shall be verified.

(c) The protestant shall answer the counter-protest

within five (5) days after notice.

(d) Within five (5) days from the filing of the protest,

any other candidate for the same office may intervene in

the case as other contestants and ask for affirmative relief

in his favor by a verified petition in intervention, which

shall be substantiated within the same proceeding. The

protestant

or

protestee

shall

answer

the

protest-in-intervention within five (5) days after notice.

(e)

If

no

answer

shall

be

filed

to

the

protest,

counter-protest or protest-in-intervention within the time

limits respectively fixed, a general denial shall be deemed

to have been entered.

Section 8. Substantial and Formal Amendments of

Pleadings .

—

After

the case is set for hearing, no

amendment to any pleading affecting the merits of the

controversy shall be allowed except by leave of Court and

only upon such grounds as will serve public interest. But

such leave may be refused if it appears to the court that

the motion to amend was made with intent to delay the

action. Any amendment in matters of from may be

permitted at any stage of the proceedings.

Section 9. Filing Fee. — No protest, counter-protest,

or

protest-in-intervention

shall

be

given due course

without the payment of a filing fee in the amount of

three hundred pesos (P300.00) for each interest.

Each interest shall further pay the legal research fee

as required by law.

If a claim for damages and attorney's fees are set

forth

in

a

protest,

counter-protest

or

protest-in-intervention, an additional filing fee shall be

paid in accordance with the schedule provided for in the

Rules of Court in the Philippines.

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