Enrile-Pimentel dagdag-bawas case moot — SC

Similar to many other cases overtaken by events, a 1995 dagdag-bawas (vote padding and shaving) case between Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile has been declared moot and academic.

After almost seven years, the Supreme Court has decided on the electoral protest filed by Pimentel against Enrile - who both ran for senator in 1995 - saying the case became academic when Pimentel was elected to a six-year term in 1998, joining the accused in the Senate.

"A case becomes moot and academic when there is no more actual controversy between the parties or no useful purpose can be served in passing upon the merits," the High Court said in a nine-page decision dated May 19, as it agreed with the comment of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

The case stemmed from the protest Pimentel filed before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) against Enrile, following the 1995 midterm elections. Pimentel, who has been on a crusade to fight dagdag-bawas, claimed the votes for him were credited to Enrile.

After revision of the ballots, the SET issued on Aug. 21, 1997 a tabulation of votes where Enrile dropped in the ranking from 11th place to 15th, as some of his votes were credited to Pimentel.

When the SET denied Enrile’s motion for reconsideration, he elevated the case to the Supreme Court.

In his petition before the high tribunal, Enrile contended that the partial results the SET released were erroneous because they were improbable and not supported by evidence.

When the Supreme Court asked the OSG to comment on the petition, the government counsel said the SET did not commit grave abuse of discretion favoring Pimentel. The OSG added there was no more legal question for the High Court to settle.

Enrile’s term ended in 2001, but lost re-election after being among the group of senators that voted against the opening of bank documents in the impeachment trial of deposed President Joseph Estrada.

In this year’s elections, both Pimentel and Enrile ran under the opposition Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP), and are currently in the winning 12 in partial counts.