This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2008-02-11 |
REYES, R.T., J. |
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| The HRET has sole and exclusive jurisdiction overall contests relative to the election, returns, and qualifications of members of the House of Representatives. Thus, once a winning candidate has been proclaimed, taken his oath, and assumed office as a Member of the House of Representatives, COMELEC's jurisdiction over election contests relating to his election, returns, and qualifications ends, and the HRET's own jurisdiction begins. The COMELEC was not amiss in quickly deciding Belmonte's petition to correct manifest errors then proclaiming him the winner. Election cases are imbued with public interest.[9] They involve not only the adjudication of the private interest of rival candidates but also the paramount need of dispelling the uncertainty which beclouds the real choice of the electorate with respect to who shall discharge the prerogatives of the offices within their gift.[10] It has always been the policy of the election law that pre-proclamation controversies should be summarily decided, consistent with the law's desire that the canvass and proclamation be delayed as little as possible.[11] | |||||