Article 3p. 3

SPECIAL RULES OF PROCEDURE SUPPLEMENT TO THE RULES OF COURT

A.M. No. 07-4-15-SC | RULES OF

PROCEDURE IN ELECTION CONTESTS

BEFORE THE COURTS INVOLVING

ELECTIVE MUNICIPAL AND BARANGAY

OFFICIALS

RULE 1 SCOPE

SECTION 1. Coverage . - These Rules shall govern the

filing of pleadings, practice and procedure in election

protests and petitions for quo warranto before courts of

general jurisdiction and courts of limited jurisdiction

relating to elective municipal and barangay officials.

SEC. 2. Application of the Rules of Court . - The Rules

of Court shall apply by analogy or in a suppletory

character, and whenever practicable and convenient.

SEC. 3. Definitions . - As used in these Rules:

(a) Courts - refer to the Regional Trial Courts or the

Municipal Trial Courts, including the Metropolitan Trial

Courts, Municipal Trial Courts in Cities, Municipal Trial

Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts.

(b)

Election

-

means

the

choice

or

selection

of

candidates to public office by popular vote through the

use of the ballot. Specifically, it may refer to the conduct

of the polls, including the listing of voters, the holding

of

the

electoral

campaign,

and

the

casting

and

counting of ballots and canvassing of returns.

(c) Election Contests - refer to election protests or

petitions for quo warranto .

(d) Election Protest - refers to an election contest

relating to the election and returns of elective officials,

grounded on frauds or irregularities in the conduct of

the elections, the casting and counting of the ballots

and the preparation and canvassing of returns. The

issue is who obtained the plurality of valid votes cast.

(e) Quo Warranto under the Omnibus Election Code -

refers

to

an

election

contest

relating

to

the

qualifications of an elective official on the ground of

ineligibility

or

disloyalty

to

the

Republic

of

the

Philippines. The issue is whether respondent possesses

all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications

prescribed by law.

(f) Revision of Ballots - refers to the process of a recount

of

the

ballots

involving

physical

counting

and

segregation of ballots for the protestant, protestee and

other

candidates

for

the

same

position

and

the

recording of objections and claims to ballots.

(g) Promulgation - refers to the process by which a

decision

is

published,

officially

announced,

made

known to the public and delivered to the clerk of court

for filing, coupled with notice to the parties or their

counsel.

SEC.

4.

Inherent

powers

of

the

court .

-

When

performing its functions, a court shall have the inherent

power to:

(a)

Preserve

and

enforce

order

in

its

immediate

presence;

(b) Enforce order in proceedings before it, or before a

person or persons empowered to conduct a judicial

investigation under its authority;

(c) Compel obedience to its judgments, orders and

processes, and to the lawful orders of a judge out of

court, in a case pending therein;

(d) Control, in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its

ministerial officers, and of all other persons in any

manner connected with a case before it, in every

manner appertaining thereto;

(e) Compel the attendance of persons to testify in a

case pending therein;

(f) Administer or cause to be administered oaths in a

case pending therein, and in all other cases where it

may be necessary in the exercise of its powers;

(g) Amend and control its processes and orders so as to

make them conformable to law and justice; and

(h) Authorize a copy of a lost or destroyed pleading or

other paper to be filed and used instead of the original

and to restore and supply deficiencies in its records and

proceedings.

SEC. 5. Means to carry jurisdiction into effect . - All

auxiliary writs, processes, and other means necessary to

carry into effect its powers or jurisdiction may be

employed by the court and, if the procedure to be

followed in the exercise of such jurisdiction is not

specifically provided by law or these Rules, the court

may adopt any suitable process or mode of process

which appears conformable to the spirit of said law or

rules.

RULE 2 ELECTION CONTESTS

SECTION 1. Jurisdiction of regional trial courts . -

Regional

trial

courts

shall

have

exclusive

original

jurisdiction over all election contests involving elective

municipal officials.

SEC.

2.

Jurisdiction

of

municipal

trial

courts .

-

Municipal

trial

courts

shall

have

exclusive original

jurisdiction over all election contests involving elective

barangay officials.

SEC. 3. How initiated . - An election contest is initiated

by the filing of an election protest or a petition for quo

warranto against an elective municipal or barangay

official.

An

election

protest

or

a petition for quo

warranto shall be filed directly with the proper 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.

SEC. 4. Modes of service and filing . - Service and filing

of pleadings, including the initiatory petition and other

papers, shall be done personally. Except with respect to

papers emanating from the court, a resort to other

modes of service must be accompanied by a written

explanation why the service or filing was not done

personally. A violation of this Rule shall be cause to

consider the pleading or paper as not filed.

SEC. 5. Election protest . - A petition contesting the

election or returns of an elective municipal or barangay

official shall be filed with the proper regional trial court

or municipal trial court by any 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 Sangguniang Bayan or

Sangguniang Barangay may be consolidated in one

case.

SEC. 6. Quo Warranto . - A petition for quo warranto

against an elective municipal or barangay official shall

be filed with the proper regional trial court or municipal

trial court by any registered voter who has voted in the

election concerned. The party filing the petition shall be

designated as the petitioner; the adverse party shall be

known as the respondent.

© Compiled By RGL

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