MANILA — Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa will continue to handle the election protest case filed by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., against Vice President Leni Robredo.
In a 14-page resolution dated Aug. 28, the SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), denied Marcos’ motion asking for Caguioa’s inhibition from the case for utter lack of merit.
“The foregoing shows that Justice Caguioa’s conduct of the matters in this protest has been nothing but impartial. Further, it bears reiterating that all decisions of the Tribunal have been arrived at through majority vote of all the members of the Court sitting en banc. As provided under Rule 66 of the 2010 PET Rule,” the PET said.
Marcos earlier accused Caguioa of “evident bias and manifest partiality” in favor of Robredo.
In his extremely urgent motion to inhibit, Marcos accused Caguioa of bias towards the “yellow brigade” as he took note that the magistrate has close ties with former President Benigno Aquino III.
Caguioa served as presidential legal counsel and acting Justice Secretary during Aquino’s term and was later appointed to the High Court in January 2016.
“Regrettably, however, it would appear that Associate Justice Caguioa had other plans because he even took the responsibility of being the ponente in the said election protest,” Marcos’ urgent motion said.
“He practically used his office to convince the voting public not to vote for protestant Marcos as vice-president. It is also public knowledge that Noynoy Aquino handpicked protestee Robredo to run against protestant Marcos for the vice-presidential position in the May 2016 elections,” Marcos’ motion stated.
Given his “fraternal relations” with Aquino, Marcos said he expected Caguioa to recuse from his election protest as he described himself as Aquino’s “arch nemesis.”
Marcos added that his “utmost respect” for the SC, sitting as the PET, kept him from formally asking for Caguioa’s inhibition for the past two years, adding that he “has been trying to remain calm and collected” during the said period.
He said Caguioa’s wife, Pier Angela “Gel” Caguioa, “was not only an anti-Marcos advocate but was also an ardent supporter of Robredo, having actively campaigned for her during the May 2016 elections.
“Accordingly, it is most respectfully prayed by the undersigned protestant that Associate Justice Caguioa immediately RECUSE and INHIBIT himself from participating in any of the proceedings in connection with the above-entitled election protest,” Marcos stated.
The PET, however, rejected the motion and sternly warned” Marcos and his lawyers that “any unfounded and inappropriate accusation made in the future will be dealt with more severely.”
The PET said Caguioa “has been nothing but impartial” in his conduct of matters involved in Marcos’ protest against Robredo, and explained that all decisions have been reached through a majority vote of the Court en banc.
“Amid baseless allegations of delay, the Tribunal has given these no serious consideration as it knows that the proceedings in the Protest have, in fact, been pushed forward with utmost dispatch despite numerous pending incidents arising from it,” the resolution read.
The tribunal also noted that a magistrate cannot withdraw from a case as a matter of convenience or as a means to avoid controversy.
It added that there is a remarkable progress in the Marcos-Robredo protest case under the guidance of Justice Caguioa, thus, there is no reason to indulge in controversy.
Last Aug. 20, PET denied the request of Caguioa to inhibit and re-raffle to other magistrates the election protest case filed by Marcos.
A newspaper report said Caguioa wrote a two-page letter-memorandum addressed to then Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and the other justices of the En Banc, that he will just inhibit himself as ponente and will continue to participate in the case, prior to Marcos’ filing of a motion for his inhibition.
The High Court also asked the media to be more circumspect and discerning in reporting unofficial and pending matters that have yet to be acted upon as they may mislead the public.
In a two-page letter, Caguioa pointed out that “a great number of fake news have circulated alleging all sorts of conspiracy and bad faith on my part” ever since the case landed in his chambers two years ago.
He was accused of delaying the proceedings, such as the manual recount or revision of votes which began only in April, to which he defended himself by saying it was not his fault but attributed the delay to the renovation of the SC-Court of Appeals Gym, the venue for the recount, as well as the hiring and training of PET personnel.
The PET is currently holding a manual vote recount that covers Marcos’ protest’s three pilot provinces: Iloilo, Camarines Sur, and Negros Oriental. All three are known bailiwicks of Robredo.
On June 29, 2016, Marcos filed the protest, claiming that Robredo’s camp cheated in the automated polls in May that year.
In his protest, Marcos contested the results from 132,446 precincts in 39,221 clusters, covering 27 provinces and cities.
Robredo won the vice presidential race in the May 2016 polls with 14,418,817 votes or 263,473 more than Marcos’ 14,155,344 votes. (PNA)