Comelec resets hearing on Panlilio case
KIMBERLY JANE T. TAN, GMANews.TV
10/22/2009 | 10:34 AM
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has reset the hearing of the case filed by former Pampanga provincial board member Lilia Pineda against incumbent Governor Ed Panlilio over the alleged cheating in the province's gubernatorial race in 2007.
On Thursday, the Comelec Second Division moved the hearing to October 29 after Panlilio’s camp failed to present their comment on the pieces of evidence filed by the camp of Pineda.
Panlilio won by a slim margin of 1,147 votes in the 2007 elections over Pineda, a known ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Pineda then accused Panlilio, a priest-turned-politician, of cheating in the electoral exercise. Panlilio has denied the accusation.
Panlilio’s legal counsel, Sixto Brillantes Jr., told Comelec Second Division presiding Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer that they are not attempting to delay the proceedings but that they are only having some problems as to who really is the lead counsel of the governor.
"As of now I am seeking clarification from the client himself on who is the lead counsel (but) we have already commenced with the preparation of the written comments and objection," he said.
Brillantes said they are actually not objecting to several of the documentary exhibits, taking into consideration that these are election returns, statement of votes of the precinct, and some statistics. "We’re only going to object to one particular item," he said.
Witnesses
In addition, the lawyer said they intend to present some witnesses in the next hearing.
"Based on my initial conference with the protestee, we intend to present witnesses, we would just like to check the availability of these people," he said.
But in a separate interview with GMANews.TV, Brillantes admitted that he has no idea yet as to who the witnesses are going to be.
“Hindi ko pa alam (I don’t know yet), we’re going to hold a conference on that," he said.
Last September, the Comelec completed the recount of the gubernatorial race but it had yet to declare the winner.
Ferrer said they still need more time to declare who won between Panlilio and Pineda. More than 4,000 contested ballots were involved in the recount.
Panlilio had earlier hinted of seeking the presidency but has since decided to support the impending candidacy of Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III of the Liberal Party. - GMANews.TV
On Thursday, the Comelec Second Division moved the hearing to October 29 after Panlilio’s camp failed to present their comment on the pieces of evidence filed by the camp of Pineda.
Panlilio won by a slim margin of 1,147 votes in the 2007 elections over Pineda, a known ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Pineda then accused Panlilio, a priest-turned-politician, of cheating in the electoral exercise. Panlilio has denied the accusation.
Panlilio’s legal counsel, Sixto Brillantes Jr., told Comelec Second Division presiding Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer that they are not attempting to delay the proceedings but that they are only having some problems as to who really is the lead counsel of the governor.
"As of now I am seeking clarification from the client himself on who is the lead counsel (but) we have already commenced with the preparation of the written comments and objection," he said.
Brillantes said they are actually not objecting to several of the documentary exhibits, taking into consideration that these are election returns, statement of votes of the precinct, and some statistics. "We’re only going to object to one particular item," he said.
Witnesses
In addition, the lawyer said they intend to present some witnesses in the next hearing.
"Based on my initial conference with the protestee, we intend to present witnesses, we would just like to check the availability of these people," he said.
But in a separate interview with GMANews.TV, Brillantes admitted that he has no idea yet as to who the witnesses are going to be.
“Hindi ko pa alam (I don’t know yet), we’re going to hold a conference on that," he said.
Last September, the Comelec completed the recount of the gubernatorial race but it had yet to declare the winner.
Ferrer said they still need more time to declare who won between Panlilio and Pineda. More than 4,000 contested ballots were involved in the recount.
Panlilio had earlier hinted of seeking the presidency but has since decided to support the impending candidacy of Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III of the Liberal Party. - GMANews.TV
