Four candidates in the 2010 local elections in Catanduanes were among those whose unresolved cases were dismissed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) last week.
The other Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, the Comelec junked a total of 1,024 unresolved petitions against individuals who allegedly overspent campaign funds in the 2010 and 2013 elections.
Included in the junked cases were Election Case No. 14-302 against then gubernatorial candidate Manuel O. Montarde (PGRP), No. 14-524 against then mayoral bet Odilon F. Pascua (Lakas-Kampi), No. 15-384 vs. Gigmoto Sangguniang Bayan aspirant Elvira Cullado (Lakas-Kampi), and No. 15-745 vs. Panganiban SB candidate Florencio Angeles (Lakas-Kampi), all candidates in the 2010 local elections.
Montarde garnered only 764 votes and finished last in the battle for governor won by Joseph Cua over then Congressman Joseph Santiago.
Pascua won his race against Lina Villaluna that same year but lost his bid for vice mayor in the 2013 polls.
Cullado won a seat in the Gigmoto SB but was out of the winner’s circle three years later while Angeles placed 11th in 2010.
In dismissing 926 petitions that were pending preliminary investigation and resolution, and 98 motions for reconsideration which were not acted upon by the en banc in the past, the Comelec banked on a Supreme Court ruling that emphasized the constitutional right of the accused to the speedy disposition of cases.
The cases included 926 petitions which were pending preliminary investigation and resolution, and 98 motions for reconsideration which were not acted upon by the en banc in the past.
COMELEC Chairman George Garcia admitted that in the past, the poll body failed to expeditiously resolve such cases.
In issuing the resolution, the Commission cited the High Court’s 2022 ruling that lamented the poll body’s failure to resolve the overspending case against Davao del Sur politician Joseph Peñas.
Four years after he ran and won as Digos City mayor in 2010, Peñas was accused by the Comelec’s campaign finance unit of alleged violation of the Omnibus Election Code provision on election overspending.
It took another four years for Comelec en banc to find probable cause against the politician and two more years to deny his motion for reconsideration.
Peñas subsequently filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, alleging that the Comelec incurred inordinate delay in resolving the complaint and insisted that he immediately tried to rectify errors in his statement of contributions and campaign expenditures (SOCE).
In siding with Peñas, the SC concluded that the Comelec was guilty of inordinate delay that put the petitioners at a disadvantage.
“Why the preliminary investigation lasted for an unreasonable period of time is clearly unfathomable considering the simplicity of the issue, that there is only one respondent charged in the complaint, and the evidence involved here was not at all voluminous,” the Supreme Court stated.
“The six-year period it took to resolve the complaint grossly prejudiced petitioner,” it added. “There is also no legitimate avenue to invoke one’s right to a speedy disposition of his case before the Comelec.”
In a press statement, Chairman Garcia vowed to resolve all cases expeditiously, including those of nuisance candidates.
He assured that in the coming months, the COMELEC will resolve more pending cases in its docket, including thousands of hand-me-down cases filed as far back as years 2013 and 2016, with SOCE-related cases alone accounting for about 3,000.
In the elections ahead, the COMELEC, as part of its procedure, will be hearing cases filed with regard to nuisance candidates directly at the en banc level for swift resolution.