Elections on Trial: The Effective Management of Election Disputes and Violations
Country and
EDR Model
Jurisdiction
Procedures
or vice president are determined
by the Supreme Court (sitting as
the Presidential Election
Tribunal).55 When a contest
involves members of the House of
Representatives or Senate, three
members of the Supreme Court
and six members of the respective
legislative body has jurisdiction as
either the House of
Representatives Electoral Tribunal
or Senate Electoral Tribunal
(SET).56 Within COMELEC, postelection disputes are handled by
the Election Complaints and
Adjudication Department (ECAD),
election offenses are investigated
by the Law Department for
potential prosecution in the trial
courts, and pre-election
procedural complaints related to
registration or eligibility issues are
directed to the Clerk of the
Commission.
within COMELEC for the
respective types of case that
those two departments
handle. The various rules of
procedure have been
amended repeatedly since
2010 and as a result can be
fragmented and difficult to
understand.
Case Management
System
from filing to execution
for use exclusively within
COMELEC. Until then,
commissioners continue
to track cases via
analogue spread sheets,
reports and matrices
submitted by clerks of
the court.
Strength
Weakness
related to providing notice
to challenged voters.59
are not currently
available to the general
public as a matter of
course, though they can
be requested. Lengthy
legal decisions are
written by
commissioners, and
there has been
movement toward
publishing an annual
compendium of
COMELEC decisions.
55
Constitution of the Philippines, Article VII, Section 17
Constitution of the Philippines, Article VI, Section 17
59
Omnibus Electoral Law Article XXII SECTION 143(b) “Notices to the members of the board of election inspectors and to challenged voters shall state the place, day and hour in
which such petition shall be heard, and such notice may be made by sending a copy thereof by registered mail or by personal delivery or by leaving it in the possession of a
person of sufficient discretion in the residence of the said person or, in the event that the foregoing procedure is not practicable, by posting a copy in a conspicuous place in the
city hall or municipal building and in two other conspicuous places within the city or municipality, at least ten days prior to the day set for the hearing.”
56
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