Caguioa stays in charge of VP poll protest case

Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa remains in charge of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s election protest after the tribunal rejected their colleague's request to reassign the management of the case.

Caguioa's request was "denied unanimously," SC spokesperson Theodore Te said Monday, in response to news reports that Caguioa has circulated an internal memorandum asking for the re-raffling of Marcos' case against Vice President Leni Robredo.

"Contrary to these reports, there has been no change in the management of
PET Case No. 0005 as the request was denied unanimously," Te said in a statement.

As member-in-charge, Caguioa sets the calendar for case proceedings and writes resolutions, and will eventually pen the draft decision that would be voted upon by the Court en banc.

Marcos, citing bias, had asked Caguioa to recuse himself from the case given his "fraternal relations" with former President Benigno Aquino III and his wife's being an "ardent supporter" of the vice president.

In its statement, the SC also warned against the leakage of internal court documents and asked the media for circumspection in reporting unofficial information.

"Reference has been made in the news items to a document that is both internal and privileged and which could only have been obtained or accessed unofficially. In the past, the Court has dealt severely with individuals and court personnel who have leaked privileged and confidential matters as well as pending matters," the statement said.

"We ask the media to be more circumspect and discerning in reporting unofficial and pending matters that have yet to be acted upon as they may mislead the public," it added.

The SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, has previously fined Marcos and Robredo for making public disclosures about the election protest in violation of the sub judice role, which bars litigants from discussing pending court matters which could lead to the prejudging of the case.

Marcos is challenging Robredo's allegedly fraud-marred victory in the 2016 vice presidential race. His election protest is at the recount stage, covering more than 5,000 clustered precincts from the pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental.

The results of this recount will determine whether or not the case will proceed with the rest of the 31,047 clustered precincts contested by the defeated vice presidential candidate. —KG, GMA News