Article 21p. 21

SPECIAL RULES OF PROCEDURE SUPPLEMENT TO THE RULES OF COURT

(l) Consolidation machine – refers to the machine used

during the canvass proceedings to consolidate at every

canvass level.

(m) Statement of Votes by Precinct, Municipality, City,

District, Province, or Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV)

Station -–refers to a document in electronic and in

printed form generated by consolidation machines or

by computers during the canvass proceedings. This

document records the votes obtained by candidates in

each precinct, municipality, city, district, province, or

OAV Station, as the case may be.

(n) Municipal Certificate of Canvass – refers to the

document in electronic and in printed form, containing

the total votes in figures obtained by each candidate in

the municipality the electronic form of which is the

official

canvass

result

in

the

municipality

electronically-transmitted to a higher canvass level.

(o) Certificate of Canvass and Proclamation – refers to

the official document in printed form, containing the

names of all candidates who obtained the highest

number

of

votes

in

a particular municipality and

certifying to these candidates’ proclamation as winners.

(p) Data Storage Device – refers to the device that stores

electronic

documents

from

where

data

may

be

obtained when necessary to verify the accuracy and

correctness of election data. The data storage device

used in a PCOS shall be under the custody and direct

responsibility of the election officer after completion of

the voting process. A data storage device includes the

back-up storage device under COMELEC custody that

likewise stores authentic electronic copies of data.

(q) Audit Log – refers to the electronic document, stored

in the PCOS machine’s data storage device, containing

the list of all activities the PCOS machine performs

from the time that it is powered on until it is turned off.

(r)

Electronic

document

– refers to the record of

information or the representation of information, data,

figures, symbols or other modes of written expression,

described or however represented, by which a fact may

be proved and affirmed, which is received, recorded,

transmitted, stored, processed, retrieve or produced

electronically. It includes digitally-signed documents

and any printout or output, readable by sight or other

means,

that

accurately

reflects

the

electronic

document.

For purposes of these Rules, an electronic document

refers to either the picture image of the ballots or the

electronic copies of the election returns, the statements

of votes, the certificates of canvass, the audit log, and

other electronic data processed by the PCOS and

consolidation machines.

(s) Manual count of ballots – where voting using the

AES ballots proceeded manually because the PCOS

machines could not be used, votes shall be counted

manually

under

the

guidelines

provided

by

the

COMELEC, and the courts shall be guided accordingly.

(t) Election contests – refers to election protests or

petitions for quo warranto.

(u) Election protest – refers to an election contest

involving the election and returns of municipal elective

officials, grounded on fraud or irregularities committed

in the conduct of the elections, i.e., in the casting and

the counting of the ballots, in the consolidation of votes

and

in

the

canvassing

of

returns,

not

otherwise

classified as a pre-proclamation controversy cognizable

by

the COMELEC. The issue is who obtained the

plurality of valid votes cast.

(v) Quo Warranto under the Omnibus Election Code –

refers to an election contest involving the qualifications

for office of an elective municipal official, on the ground

of ineligibility or disloyalty to the Republic of the

Philippines.

The

issue

is

whether

the

respondent

possesses

all

the

qualifications

and

none

of

the

disqualifications prescribed by law.

(w) Revision of ballots – refers to the recount of ballots

through their physical count; the segregation of ballots

for the protestant, the protestee and other candidates

for

the

same

position

and

the

recording

of

the

objections and claims to these ballots.

(x) Promulgation – refers to the process of officially

issuing the court’s decision or order in an election

contest.

Section 4. Inherent powers of the court. – A regional

trial court acting on an election contest shall have all

the inherent powers of a court provided under Rule 135

of the Rules of Court, including the power to issue

auxiliary writs, processes, and other means necessary to

carry its authority or jurisdiction into effect and to adopt

suitable

processes

not

expressly

provided

by,

but

conformable with, law, these Rules, or the Rules of

Court.

Section 5. Construction. – The Rules shall be liberally

constructed

to

achieve

a

just,

expeditious,

and

inexpensive determination and disposition of municipal

election contests.

RULE 2 ELECTION CONTESTS

Section

1.

Jurisdiction

of

regional

trial

courts.

–

Regional

trial

courts

shall

have

exclusive

original

jurisdiction

over

all

election

contests

involving

municipal officials.

Section 2. How initiated. – An election contest is

initiated by the filing of an election protest or a petition

for quo warranto against an elective municipal official.

An election protest or a petition for quo warranto shall

be filed directly with the court in three legible copies

plus such number of copies corresponding to the

number of protestees or respondents.

An election protest shall not include a petition for quo

warranto, nor shall a petition for quo warranto include

an election protest.

Section 3. Modes of service and filing. – Service and

filing of pleadings, including the initiatory petition and

other subsequent papers, shall be done personally.

Except for papers emanating from the court, resort to

other modes of service must be accompanied by a

written explanation why the service or filing was not

done personally. A pleading or motion violating this

Rule shall be considered not to have been filed.

Section 4. Election protest. – A petition contesting the

election or returns for an elective municipal office shall

be filed with the proper Regional Trial Court by an

candidate who was voted for the same office and who

received the second or third-highest number of votes

or, in a multi-slot position, was among the next four

candidates

following

the

last-ranked

winner

duly

proclaimed, as reflected in the official results of the

election

contained

in

the

Statement

of

Votes

by

Precinct.

The

party

filing

the

protest

shall

be

designated as the protestant; the adverse party shall be

known as the protestee.

Each

contest

shall

refer

exclusively

to

one office;

however, contests for offices of the Sangguniang Bayan

may be consolidated in one case.

Section 5. Quo warranto. – A petition for quo warranto

against an elective municipal official shall be filed with

the proper Regional Trial Court by any registered voter

who voted in the municipal election. The party filing

the petition shall be designated as the petitioner; the

adverse party shall be known as the respondent.

Section 6. Petition must be verified and accompanied

by a certificate of non-forum shopping. – An election

protest or a petition for quo warranto shall be verified

by an affidavit stating that the affiant has read the

petition and that its allegations are true and correct of

the affiant’s own knowledge or based on authentic

records. A verification based on "information and belief"

© Compiled By RGL

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