Local Absentee Voting Act

Section 1

Any natural or juridical person authorized by these rules to initiate any action or proceeding shall file with the Commission a protest or petition alleging therein his personal circumstances as well as those of the protestee or respondent, the jurisdictional facts, and a concise statement of the ultimate facts constituting his cause or causes of action and specifying the relief sought. He may add a general prayer for such further or other relief as may be deemed just or equitable.

Section 1

The Commission on Elections, through any of its Divisions, shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all election protests involving elective regional (the autonomous regions), provincial, and city officials.

Section 2

In cases where the Commission is authorized to initiate motu proprio an action or proceeding, the Commission shall issue an order for hearing reciting therein the purpose for which the hearing is being called for and a concise statement of facts giving rise thereto. Copies of such order shall be served upon persons or registered political parties, organizations or coalition of political parties known to have an interest in the matter or who may be affected thereby, and published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines at least ten (10) days before the scheduled date of hearing.

Section 2

A petition contesting the elections or returns of an elective regional, provincial, or city official shall be filed with the Commission by any candidate who was voted for in the same office and who received the second of third highest number of votes or, in a multi-slot position, was among the next four candidates following the last ranked winner duly proclaimed, as reflected in the official results of the election contained in the Statement of Votes. The party filing the protest shall be designated as the protestant; the adverse party shall be known as the protestee.

Section 3

An election protest or petition for quo warranto shall be filed directly with the Commission within a non extendible period of ten (10) days following the date of proclamation. The protest or petition shall be in two (2) original copies with annexes together with an electronic version thereof stored in compact disc, flash drive, or other portable storage device, with proof of service of a copy upon the protestee. The electronic version of the protest or petition need not be signed and shall be in MS Word or other similar formats, while the annexes shall be in PDF format saved collectively as a single file. Each contest shall refer exclusively to one (1) office but contests for offices of the Sangguniang Pampook, Sangguniang Panlalawigan or Sangguniang Panlungsod may be consolidated in one (1) case. (as amended by COMELEC Resolution No. 9720)

Section 4

Service and filing of pleadings, including the initiatory petition and other papers, shall be done personally. Except with respect to papers emanating from the Commission, a resort to other modes of service must be accompanied by a written explanation why the service or filing was not done personally. A violation of this Rule shall be a cause to consider the pleading or paper as not filed.

Section 5

An election protest shall be verified by an affidavit stating that the affiant has read the petition and that the allegations therein are true and correct of affiant's own knowledge or based on authentic records. A verification based on "information and belief" or upon the "knowledge, information and belief" is not a sufficient verification. The protestant shall personally sign the certificate of non-forum shopping which must be annexed to the election protest. An unverified petition or one with insufficient verification or unaccompanied by a certificate of non-forum shopping shall be dismissed outright and shall not suspend the running of the reglementary period to file an election protest.

Section 6

The pendency of a pre-proclamation controversy involving the validity of the proclamation as defined by law shall suspend the running of the period to file an election protest.

Section 7

An election protest or petition for quo warranto shall specifically state the following facts: a) The position involved b) That the protestant was a candidate who has duly filed a certificate of candidacy and has been voted for the same office. c) The date of proclamation; and d) The number of votes credited to the parties per proclamation. An election protest shall also state: e) The total number of precincts of the region, province or city concerned; f) The protested precincts and votes of the parties in the protested precincts per the Statement of Votes By Precinct or, if the votes of the parties are not specified an explanation why the votes are not specified; g) A detailed specification of the acts or omissions complained of showing the electoral frauds, anomalies or irregularities in the protested precincts.

Section 8

The Director of the Election Contest and Adjudication Department (ECAD) shall immediately docket the Protest and raffle the case to either the First or Second Division of the Commission.

Section 9

The Commission shall summarily dismiss, motu proprio, an election protest and counter-protest on the following grounds: a) The Commission has no jurisdiction over the subject matter; b) The protest is insufficient in form and content as required in Section 7 hereof; c) The petition is filed beyond the period prescribed in these rules; d) The filing fee is not paid within the period for the filing the election protest or petition for quo warranto; and e) In case of protest where a cash deposit is required, the cash deposit is not paid within fifteen (15) days from the filing of the protest.