THE Commission on Elections has dismissed the petition filed by defeated mayoralty candidate and former Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim seeking to nullify the proclamation of former president and current Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada as duly elected mayor of Manila last May elections.
In a 14-page resolution issued by the Comelec’s First Division, the poll body held that Lim’s petition seeking to disqualify Estrada from running in the mayoralty post was filed out of time.
It also junked Lim’s claim in seeking the annulment of Estrada’s proclamation on grounds that the City Board of Canvassers conducted its canvass of votes illegally through manual uploading of results.
The Comelec held that Lim’s petition for disqualification based on Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code was filed out of time since it was filed on May 18, 2016 or eight days after his proclamation.
“When a petition for disqualification is filed before the proclamation of winners there are still candidates to disqualify. After the proclamation of winners, the parties are technically no longer candidates because the winners are already formally determined,” the Comelec ruled.
“The petition before us was filed on May 18, 2016. Estrada was proclaimed winning Mayor on May 10, 2016. Clearly, the petition was filed outside the period provided under Section 3, Rule 25 of Comelec Resolution No. 9523,” it added.
Likewise, the Comelec held that Lim failed to present evidence to prove illegal proceedings on the part of the CBOC in counting the votes.
In his petition, Lim claimed that prior to the elections the Manila City government distributed over 7,000 tablet computers to public school teachers in April.
These tablets, according to Lim, were used by Board of Election Inspectors to manipulate or alter the dates in the secure digital cards before surrendering them for uploading to the Consolidation and Canvassing System.
“Lim failed to substantiate his claim that the BEIs used the tablets to manipulate, alter or modify the data in the SD cards before surrendering them for uploading to the CCs,” the resolution stated.
“Although he was able to present affidavits narrating factual circumstances pertaining to the canvassing proceedings, the affiants did not categorically state that they witnessed the BEIs manipulating, altering or modifying the data in the SD cards through the tablets,” it added.
The Comelec noted the witnesses merely reiterated suspicions of wrongdoing due to the lack of signal in the canvassing venue, manual uploading of results and other circumstances relative to the delivery of SD cards.
Likewise, the Comelec stressed that manual uploading of results was provided under Comelec Resolution No. 10083 as a contingency measure in the event of electronic failure.
“In sum, we find that the petition under Section 68 of the OEC was filed out of time, insofar as the prayer for disqualification is concerned. We also find that there is no sufficient proof that would allow us to conclude that the canvass proceedings was attended by illegality, which could have justified the annulment of Estrada’s proclamation,” the Comelec ruled.
The February 23 resolution was signed by Comelec First Division presiding Commissioner Robert Lim and Commissioners Luie Tito Guia and Ma. Rowena Amelia Guanzon.
With total votes of 283,149, Estrada beat Lim for another term in office. Lim got 280,464 votes, while the third mayoralty candidate, former 5th District Rep. Amado Bagatsing, had 167,829 votes.
