Baricuatro seeks ‘outright’dismissal of poll protest

CEBU, Philippines — After given a five-day period to reply before the Commission on Elections (Comelec), incoming Cebu Governor Pamela “Pam” Baricuatro has called for the outright dismissal of the election protest filed against her by outgoing Cebu Governor Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia.

She described the protest as “insufficient in form and substance."

In a 56-page answer submitted on June 16, Baricuatro’s legal team headed by Atty. Alberto “Al” Agra detailed the series of lapses in Garcia’s election protest, which challenged the outcome of the May 2025 gubernatorial race in Cebu.

Baricuatro's legal team maintained that Garcia’s protest did not present concrete proof or detailed allegations that warrant a full-blown trial. The team added that the complaint lacked specificity, relying on generalized accusations and it failed to cite valid grounds for judicial scrutiny.

“The election protest is described as a nuisance suit and is but a commentary and an op-ed page of a tabloid,” the statement read from Baricuatro’s legal counsel.

Garcia, who garnered 765,051 votes, lost to Baricuatro by a significant margin of 342,873 votes.

Baricuatro received 1,107,924 votes in what her camp described as a "clean, credible, and peaceful" election across Cebu Province.

Baricuatro’s team also pointed out that Garcia failed to comply with Rule 6, Section 7(g) of the Comelec’s Rules of Procedure on Disputes in an Automated Election System, which mandates a “detailed specification” of fraud or irregularity in contested precincts.

The protest also failed to comply with Rule 7 of the Rules of Court, which requires the submission of witness' names and the summary of their testimonies.

Instead, it allegedly bundled all affidavits under a generic annex without individualized explanation.

“The Election Protest names no witnesses. And since there are no witnesses, there is likewise no summary of intended testimonies to support the allegations of herein Protestant and herein “protest”,” stated Badicuatro's reply to the complaint.

The protest cited issues such as malfunctioning automated counting machines (ACMs), high undervotes and overvotes, and questionable data patterns.

However, Baricuatro’s team said these issues were neither unique to Cebu nor indicative of fraud.

The legal team also flagged Garcia’s failure to include essential parties in the protest—such as the Electoral Boards (EBs), Municipal Boards of Canvassers (MBOC), and the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC)—as a fatal legal defect.

Ultimately, Baricuatro's camp argued that Garcia's protest is an act of desperation.

"A losing candidate cannot use an election protest as an expedient means to unseat the winner when they are unsure of their factual bases," it concluded.

Baricuatro's reply ended with a prayer to the poll body to dismiss the protest "outright and without need of further proceedings" due to its fatal defects in form, substance, and evidence.

Garcia filed the protest on June 3, before the Comelec Electoral Contests Adjudication Department, contesting the results from all 4,120 clustered precincts in Cebu.

She alleged that the results did not reflect the “honest will of the people” and claimed to have technical and software-based evidence of fraud.

She also alleged that votes intended for her were credited to Baricuatro.

The Comelec served the summons to Baricuatro on June 10, setting a five-day deadline for a response.

Baricuatro’s legal team submitted their answer on June 16, the next working day, as June 15 was a Sunday. — JG (FREEMAN)