Comelec junks Lim’s poll protest vs Erap

MANILA, Philippines - Former president Joseph Estrada keeps his post as Manila mayor after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) dismissed a poll protest filed by defeated mayoral candidate Alfredo Lim.

In a 14-page resolution dated Feb. 23, the Comelec’s First Division ruled that Lim’s petition seeking to nullify the victory of Estrada was filed out of time.

The panel also junked Lim’s argument that the proclamation of Estrada should be nullified on grounds that the City Board of Canvassers (CBOC) conducted the canvassing of votes illegally through manual uploading of results.

Citing Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code, the poll body said Lim’s election protest was filed out of time since this was done on May 18, 2016 or eight days after Estrada was proclaimed.

“When a petition for disqualification is filed before the proclamation of winners, there are still candidates to disqualify. After the proclamation of winners, the parties are technically no longer candidates because the winners have been determined,” the Comelec explained.

“Estrada was proclaimed winning mayor on May 10, 2016. Clearly, the petition was filed outside the period provided under Section 3, Rule 25 of the Comelec Resolution No. 9523,” it added.

Lim also failed to present evidence to prove allegations of fraud on the part of the CBOC in counting the votes, according to the Comelec.

Lim claimed that the Manila City government distributed over 7,000 tablet computers to public school teachers one month ahead of the May 2016 elections.

He claimed that the computers were used by the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) to alter the data in the secure digital (SD) cards before surrendering these for uploading to the Consolidation and Canvassing System.

“The petitioner failed to substantiate his claim that the BEIs used the tablets to manipulate, alter or modify the SD cards,” the Comelec said.

“Although Lim was able to present affidavits narrating factual circumstances pertaining to the canvassing proceedings, the affiants did not categorically state that they witnessed the BEIs altering the data in the SD cards,” the poll body added.

The Comelec said the witnesses merely reiterated suspicions of wrongdoing due to lack of signal at the canvassing venue.

The poll body noted that the manual uploading of election results was provided under Comelec Resolution No. 10083 as a contingency measure in the event of electronic failure.

“There is no sufficient proof that would allow us to conclude that the canvassing was attended by illegality, which could have justified the annulment of Estrada’s proclamation,” the Comelec ruled.

The resolution was signed by Comelec First Division presiding Commissioner Robert Lim and Commissioners Luie Tito Guia and Ma. Rowena Amelia Guanzon.

Estrada narrowly defeated Lim by over 2,000 votes. Estrada garnered 283,149 votes while Lim received 280,464 votes.