G.R. No. 10629 - Amuzategui vs. Macleod

Case Digest (G.R. No. 10629)
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Facts:

Background of the Case

Protestant Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. filed an election protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) against incumbent Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni Daang Matuwid" G. Robredo, contesting her election and proclamation in the May 9, 2016 National and Local Elections.
The vice presidential election was closely contested: protestee Robredo obtained 14,418,817 votes, and protestant Marcos had 14,155,344 votes, with Robredo winning by a margin of 263,473 votes.
Congress, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), proclaimed Robredo as Vice President on May 30, 2016.

Nature of the Protest

This was the first election protest in the PET resolved on the merits after successful recount and revision of pilot provinces.
Protestant's protest contained two main causes of action:

First Cause of Action: The Certificates of Canvass (COCs) generated by the Consolidation and Canvass System (CCS) were not authentic, rendering Robredo's proclamation null and void.
Second Cause of Action: Allegations of massive electoral fraud, anomalies, and irregularities in 39,221 clustered precincts involving tactics such as terrorism, violence, intimidation, vote-buying, substitution of voters, pre-loaded SD cards, misreading of ballots, malfunctioning Vote Counting Machines (VCMs), and an abnormally high number of unaccounted votes or undervotes.

Of the 39,221 protested clustered precincts:

2,756 clustered precincts in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan allegedly had no actual elections due to terrorism and intimidation.
36,465 other clustered precincts spanned numerous provinces where elections were allegedly compromised by fraud and irregularities.

Protestant sought annulment of results in the 2,756 clustered precincts and revision and recount in the remaining 36,465 precincts.
Protestant prayed for a Precautionary Protection Order over all ballots and election paraphernalia in 92,509 clustered precincts.
Protestant complied with initial filing requirements, and the PET issued a Precautionary Protection Order and summons to protestee.

Protestee’s Answer and Counter-Protest

Protestee Robredo filed an Answer with Special and Affirmative Defenses and Counter-Protest on August 15, 2016, arguing:

Lack of jurisdiction and insufficiency of protest in form and substance.
Alleged electoral fraud claims were unsupported and fragmented affidavits were not credible.
Annulment of elections in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan lacked basis as the claimed illegality did not affect over 50% of votes.
The Counter-Protest contested election results in 7,547 clustered precincts across thirteen provinces, alleging violations in favor of protestant.

Both parties paid the required deposits and engaged in procedural disputes over timeliness and verification of pleadings.

Proceedings and Developments

The PET ruled the protest sufficient in form and substance and denied motions to dismiss.
The Tribunal constituted a panel of hearing commissioners and scheduled a preliminary conference.
At the preliminary conference, causes of action were categorized as follows:

First Cause of Action: Annulment of proclamation due to inauthentic COCs.
Second Cause of Action: Revision and recount of ballots in the 36,465 protested clustered precincts.
Third Cause of Action: Annulment of election results in terrorism-affected provinces.

The Tribunal dismissed the First Cause of Action as moot since protestant did not seek a full manual recount.
The Tribunal designated Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental as pilot provinces for revision under Rule 65 of the 2010 PET Rules.
Procedural rulings included:

Revision commenced in the pilot provinces on April 2, 2018, and concluded on February 4, 2019, covering 5,415 clustered precincts (three precincts excluded due to unavailable ballots).
Ballots were authenticated, segregated, and the parties registered objections and claims during revision.
Revision Supervisors prepared Incident Reports on irregularities found during revision, which were considered by a panel of Commissioners.

The Tribunal promulgated Guidelines on Ballot Appreciation, with the goal of discerning and giving effect to voter intent, superseding prior rules.
The appreciation of ballots was completed on August 14, 2019.
The Tribunal ordered the parties to submit memoranda addressing:

Effects of the revision and appreciation results for the pilot provinces on the Second Cause of Action;
Jurisdiction and procedural matters relating to the Third Cause of Action (annulment of election in three terrorism-affected provinces);
Other substantive and procedural issues concerning the Third Cause of Action.

Results of Revision and Appreciation

Prior to revision, official canvass showed:

Robredo: 14,418,817 votes
Marcos: 14,155,344 votes
Margin: 263,473 votes in favor of Robredo.

In the three pilot provinces (Camarines Sur, Iloilo, Negros Oriental):

Official votes totaled 1,493,517 for Robredo and 202,136 for Marcos.
After revision and appreciation, totals were 1,510,178 votes for Robredo and 204,512 for Marcos.

After recalculating nationwide votes by subtracting official pilot provinces votes and adding revised votes:

Robredo’s total increased to 14,436,337 votes.
Marcos’s total increased to 14,157,771 votes.
Robredo's lead widened from 263,473 to 278,566 votes.

Protestant’s claims for wholesale annulment of elections in ARMM provinces (Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan) hinged on allegations of terrorism and voter intimidation.

Threshold, Counting and Procedural Issues

The Tribunal initially applied a 50% shading threshold for determining valid votes pursuant to the 2010 PET Rules.
Protestee argued for a 25% shading threshold based on a COMELEC Resolution (No. 16-0600) and Random Manual Audit (RMA) guidelines.
After hearing arguments and submissions including from the COMELEC and Solicitor General, the Tribunal amended its rules to require Head Revisors to refer to the Election Returns (ERs) used in the 2016 elections to verify vote counts, ensuring consistency with machine calibration.
The Tribunal clarified that this procedure is more flexible and adaptive, reflecting the actual voting machine settings.
Parties were limited in the number and scope of witnesses for the remaining causes of action, emphasizing focus and avoiding undue delay.
Numerous motions, pleadings, and procedural disputes regarding timeliness, verification, motions to strike, and deposit payments were resolved in the course of proceedings.

Motion to Inhibit a Member of the Tribunal

Protestant moved for the inhibition of Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa alleging bias due to perceived close ties with protestee’s party.
The Tribunal denied the motion for lack of merit, holding the allegations baseless and unsupported by credible evidence.

Public Discussion and Sub Judice Rule

The Tribunal repeatedly warned parties and their counsel against public speculation and media statements due to the sub judice rule.
Despite warnings, both parties continued discussing the case publicly, leading the Tribunal to impose fines on both parties to preserve the sanctity of the judicial process.

Issues:

Jurisdiction and Procedural Sufficiency

Whether the Tribunal has jurisdiction over the protest and counter-protest under the 1987 Constitution and the 2010 PET Rules.
Whether the protest and its causes of action are sufficient in form and substance to proceed.
Timeliness and compliance issues regarding filing, answering, and payment of deposits.

Threshold and Counting Standards

What shading threshold (50% or 25%) should be applied in determining valid votes during revision and appreciation of ballots?

Scope of Revision and Recount

Whether the Tribunal should limit the revision of ballots to the pilot provinces designated by protestant under Rule 65.
Whether the Tribunal should proceed to revise ballots in provinces alleged as terrorism-affected (Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan) which are outside the pilot provinces.

Proper Procedure for Annulment of Elections

What are the documentary and testimonial requirements for annulment of elections due to electoral fraud and terrorism?
Whether such annulment requires revision and recount of ballots in the affected provinces.

Effect of Revision and Appreciation in Pilot Provinces

What is the effect of the revision and appreciation results in the pilot provinces on the protest, particularly the Second Cause of Action?
Whether the results mooted or rendered unnecessary the consideration of other causes of action.

Motions and Incidental Issues

Whether motions to inhibit, motions for technical examination, and other procedural motions should be granted or denied.
Whether to enforce the sub judice rule in light of media pronouncements.

Ruling:

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Case Digest (G.R. No. 10629)
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