SC junks plea seeking to stop Duterte presidency

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to stop the impending ascent of outgoing Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to the presidency.

In a full court session, the SC junked the petition for mandamus filed by lawyer Elly Velez Pamatong seeking to disregard or nullify the votes received by Duterte during the May 9 elections and to stop his proclamation.

The SC said it denied Pamatong's petition "on the ground that there is no showing of a clear legal right to the performance of the duty sought to be compelled by the petitioner."

Last week, Congress convened in joint session to proclaim Duterte and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo as the winners in the presidential and vice presidential elections, respectively.

Both Houses of Congress, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) for President and Vice President, finished the canvassing of votes on May 27 with Duterte and Robredo winning in the official tally.

Duterte, the incumbent Davao City mayor and standard bearer of PDP-Laban, got 16,601,997 votes while Robredo of the administration Liberal Party topped the vice presidential race with 14,418,817 votes.

Duterte defeated LP standard-bearer Manuel "Mar" Roxas by over six million votes and other presidential aspirants Senator Grace Poe, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

In the vice presidential race, Robredo edged out Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. by a slim margin of over 200,000 votes. The other candidates were Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero, Gregorio ‘Gringo’ Honasan and Antonio Trillanes IV.

Pamatong earned notoriety in 2004 when he scattered metal spikes on Roxas Boulevard, leaving scores of vehicles with flat tires.

Pamatong, who was disqualified in the 2004 and 2010 presidential races for being a "nuisance" candidate, had also admitted responsibility to the attempted bombing by a group reportedly disgruntled at the government's handling of the territorial dispute with China. —KBK, GMA News