Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson has questioned the motives of three minority senator-members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) who voted in favor of an untimely motion for reconsideration aimed at unseating Sen. Erwin Tulfo.
Lacson noted that the three minority lawmakers backed a motion for reconsideration with an amended petition for quo warranto submitted by a petitioner lacking legal standing.
“SENATE ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL: Justice and fairness went out of the window when three minority senator-members voted in favor of an out-of-time motion for reconsideration filed by a petitioner without legal standing. Their motive may be deeper than personal issues against Sen Tulfo,” Lacson said in a post on X.
In a follow-up social media statement, Lacson commended the three Supreme Court justices and the three-majority senator-members of the SET who recognized procedural defects in the filing and voted to dismiss the motion.
“MORE ON THE SENATE ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL: Let’s give credit to the three SC justice-members and the other three senator-members who undoubtedly knew the obvious procedural flaw which resulted in a 6-3 vote, thus dismissing the motion for reconsideration,” Lacson also said.
The SET voted 6-3 to reject the motion for reconsideration with an amended petition for quo warranto filed by Berteni Causing.
Causing’s initial petition sought Tulfo’s removal from office over citizenship questions, alleged membership in a political dynasty, and academic qualifications. The tribunal dismissed the original petition due to insufficiency in form.
In its latest ruling, the SET determined that Causing’s motion was submitted beyond the deadline mandated by the 2020 SET Rules and failed to observe required filing and service protocols.
The tribunal added that the amended petition remained insufficient in form, though the dismissal was issued without prejudice to future filings.
The SET consists of three Supreme Court justices and six senators. Sens. Pilar Juliana “Pia” Cayetano, Robinhood Padilla, and Camille Villar represent the minority bloc on the tribunal, while Sens. Francis Pangilinan, Benigno Aquino IV, and Manuel “Lito” Lapid represent the majority bloc.
Lacson pointed to an observation raised by Pangilinan that petitioners before the SET must be registered voters, a basic requirement Causing failed to demonstrate.
The SET previously dismissed the original complaint unanimously last year partly because Causing could not establish his status as a registered voter. When Causing submitted his motion for reconsideration in April following the expiration of the allowable filing period, he again failed to demonstrate that he was a qualified voter.