Ex-CJ Panganiban: Bongbong may appeal SC junking of poll protest but reversal difficult

Retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban on Wednesday said defeated vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos may still appeal the Presidential Electoral Tribunal’s (PET) dismissal of his electoral protest versus Vice President Leni Robredo although it may be difficult to reverse the ruling.

The PET, through Supreme Court spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka, announced on Tuesday that the tribunal was unanimous in its decision to dismiss Marcos’ protest case for lack of merit.

“They will probably file a motion for reconsideration anchored on their third cause of action,” Panganiban told GMA News.

Marcos’ third cause of action was to ask the PET to annul the votes for vice president in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, and Basilan because of alleged terrorism, harassment of voters, and pre-shading of ballots.

But the Commission on Elections had already informed the PET that there was no failure of elections in Mindanao in 2016.

“Comelec said there was no failure of elections in those three provinces in Mindanao. In other words, the results cannot be overturned. Yan ang sinabi ng Comelec. Kaya mabigat talaga ang position ni Marcos kung manghihingi siya ng reconsideration. But then that is his right,” Panganiban said.

The PET had earlier dismissed Marcos’ first cause of action questioning the results of the 2016 automated elections.

In his second cause of action, Robredo’s lead widened further after a manual recount of votes in Iloilo, Camarines Sur, and Negros Oriental.

But Panganiban said he believes that even the third cause of action has been dismissed by the tribunal after it announced the dismissal of the entire protest case.

“Ang pinag-uusapan dito, yung third cause of action, dinismiss din ba? Ang court sinabi dinismiss yung protest. So that means dinismiss din yung third cause of action. For what reason, we do not know yet,” Panganiban said.

In case Marcos pursues the appeal, Panganiban said it might be hard to get a reversal of the unanimous decision.

“It is difficult to reverse. Maybe they want a modification. I don’t know. That depends on their lawyer. A motion for reconsideration is not necessarily to reverse the entire decision. It could be that they found some grounds particularly on the third cause of action,” Panganiban added.

In its first announcement, the PET said seven magistrates “fully concurred in the dismissal while eight concurred in the result.”

“Ibig sabihin noong ‘in the result,’ sumasama rin sila na dapat i-dismiss but for different reasons. Now, what are those reasons? We do not know yet,” Panganiban explained.

GMA News also tried to get a statement from the Comelec.

Comelec spokesperson Director James Jimenez said they will release one as soon as they receive a copy of the tribunal’s decision. -MDM, GMA News