Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

9th Judicial Region
Branch ____
Pagadian City
- o0o -

RODOLF JOHN (BONG) G. DELA CRUZ,

Protestant,

- versus - EP Case No. ________________

EDUARDO (EDDIE) D. RELACION,

Protestee.
x-----------------------------------------------------/

ELECTION PROTEST

PROTESTANT Rodolf John (Bong) G. Dela Cruz, by counsel, unto this

Honorable Court, respectfully states that:

PREFATORY STATEMENT

1. The right of suffrage is one of the basic and protected right set forth by the

1987 Philippine Constitution where the will of the people can be clearly seen as

manifested during elections. Even the Commission on Elections declares as their motto,

“Vox Populi, Vox Dei” or “The voice of the people is the voice of God.” However, during

the latest May 13, 2019 Synchronized Automated National and Local Elections, the

voice of the people in the Municipality of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur was not heard

for it was silenced by massive errors and malfunctions of the automated election

system. Worse of it all, it was silenced by fear, by intimidation, by widespread vote-

buying and the use of government resources to favor the incumbent mayor and his line-

up, by massive fraud and irregularities perpetrated by allies, political leaders,

sympathizers, and agents of the incumbent Municipal Mayor, protestee in this case,

Eduardo (Eddie) D. Relacion that has rendered the results of the election highly

questionable and not reflective of the voters’ mandate.

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 2. The instant petition stems from the frustration of the people of Labangan,

Zamboanga del Sur due to the fact that the election results do not reflect the true choice

of the electorate which is tantamount to the denial of their basic right of suffrage. The

protestant is an officer of the court and he truly and faithfully believes in the sanctity of

the ballot. He undoubtedly believes that the Commission on Elections failed to protect

the right of the people to choose their rightful leaders last May 13, 2019 National and

Local Elections. When this basic right to choose is blatantly trampled, he has no one

else to turn to except for the courts as his last resort. The protestant in this case still

believes in the judicial system as a bastion of justice and equity that protects the right of

the people, most of all the right of suffrage.

NATURE OF THE ACTION

3. This is an Election Protest for the Position of Municipal Mayor in the

Municipality of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, lodged pursuant to the 2007 Rules of

Procedure for Municipal Election Contests against the supposed election and

proclamation of Protestee Eduardo (Eddie) D. Relacion as Municipal Mayor of

Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur in the just concluded May 13, 2019 Synchronized

Automated National and Local Elections;

4. Protestant assails, impugns and controverts the purported election results

in all FORTY-THREE (43) clustered/mereged precincts that functioned in the

Municipality of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur during the just concluded May 13, 2019,

principally on the ground that the elections in the said municipality were attended by

massive fraud, rampant vote-buying, voters’ intimidation, terrorism, electoral

anomalies, irregularities, and employment of illegal and fraudulent devices and

schemes committed before, during and after the elections, all of which benefits the

Protestee;

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 5. A recount and revision of official ballots and review or examination of all

election documents, Election Day Computerized Voters’ List (EDCVL), Books of Voters,

and other documents or paraphernalia used in the election, as well as the data storage

devices containing electronic date evidencing the conduct and results of the election in

the protested clustered/merged precincts has to be undertaken. More importantly, an

examination of the Audit Log Reports would have to be conducted since these

documents serve as the repository of all activities performed by the Vote Counting

Machines (VCMs) in the protested clustered/merged precincts from the time that the

VCMs were powered-on until the time they were closed. Upon all these, the massive

manipulation of votes that greatly prejudiced the protestant will be discovered and

exposed;

THE PARTIES

6. Protestant RODOLF JOHN (BONG) G. DELA CRUZ is a Filipino citizen, of

legal age, a resident and duly registered voter of Barangay Upper Campo Islam,

Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. He may be served with notices,

summonses and other processes of this Honorable Court at said residential address;

7. Protestee EDUARDO (EDDIE) D. RELACION is also a Filipino citizen, of

legal age, a resident and duly registered voter of Barangay Lower Pulacan, Labangan,

Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. He is the presumptive winner in the recently concluded

May 13, 2019 Synchronized Automated National and Local Elections. Protestee

RELACION may be served with notices, summonses and other processes of this

Honorable Court at the stated address, the same address he indicated in his Certificate

of Candidacy as his address for election purposes;

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 AVERMENT OF JURISDICTIONAL FACTS AND
TIMELINESS OF THE ELECTION PROTEST

8. Protestant RODOLF JOHN (BONG) G. DELA CRUZ (hereinafter known

as Protestant Dela Cruz) was the bona fide candidate for the position of Municipal

Mayor in the Municipality of Labangan, Province of Zamboanga del Sur and was duly

voted upon as such in the just concluded May 13, 2019 Synchronized Automated

National and Local Elections. Protestant Dela Cruz was the official candidate of the

Nacionalista Party (NP) (See photocopy of Protestant Dela Cruz’s Certificate of

Candidacy for Municipal Mayor (COC), with the accompanying Certificate of Nomination

and Acceptance (CONA) hereto attached and marked as Annex “A” and “A-1”

respectively);

9. Protestee EDUARDO (EDDIE) D. RELACION (hereinafter known as

Protestee Relacion) was also a candidate for the position of Municipal Mayor in the

Municipality of Labangan, Province of Zamboanga del Sur and was similarly voted upon

during the same May 13, 2019 Synchronized Automated National and Local Elections.

The COMELEC however, refused to provide copy of Protestee Relacion’s Certificate of

Candidacy (COC) and Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA). Hence, in the

herein prayer, Protestant Dela Cruz respectfully prays for the issuance of a subpoena

duces tecum on the Protestees’ COC and CONA.;

10. On May 18, 2019, the Municipal Board of Canvassers (MBOC) of

Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur proclaimed Protestee Relacion as the presumptive

winner for the position of Municipal Mayor after supposedly garnering ELEVEN

THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE (11,529) votes as against Protestant

Dela Cruz’s SEVEN THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY (7,670) votes or a

presumptive lead of THREE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE (3,859) votes

in Protestee Relacion’s favor (See photocopy of Certificate of Canvass and

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Proclamation of Winning Candidates for Municipal Mayor of Labangan, Zamboanga del

Sur hereto attached and marked as Annex “B”, “B-1”, “B-2” and “B-3”respectively);

11. Protestant Dela Cruz was the candidate who received the 2 nd highest

number of votes in the said election and is therefore entitled to institute this protest

pursuant to Section 4, Rule 2 of the 2007 Rules of Procedure for Municipal Election

Contests;

12. Pursuant to Section 8, Rule 2 of the 2007 Rules of Procedure for

Municipal Election Constests, Protestant Dela Cruz has ten (10) days or until May 28,

2019 within which to file an Election Protest. Thus, this Election Protest is timely filed;

GROUNDS

13. The protestant hereby impugns the election of the protestee on the

following grounds, inter alia:

Massive Errors and Malfunctions

13.1. The election results in the protested clustered precincts are not
reflective of the actual votes cast due to massive errors and malfunctions of the
automated election system in the counting and canvassing process;

13.2 In numerous precincts, the results were inconclusive due to

massive errors and malfunctions of 12 SD cards and 4 VCMs which if calculated
would be 37.20% of the total number of clustered precincts in Labangan,
Zamboanga del Sur;

13.3. A great number of VCMs failed to function properly from the onset
of casting of votes to counting and transmission of election results. These
instances create serious doubts on the accuracy of the machines to count valid
votes for the parties;

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Results Mismatch

13.4. The sum of votes garnered by the parties for the mayoral position
of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur reflected in the Certificate of Canvass (COC)
do not match. The total number of voters that actually voted on May 13, 2019
Election Day is 21,346 while on the other hand, the total number of votes
garnered by the parties of the mayoral position is only 20,015. A difference of
1,331 is an indication that VCM’s count is not the actual count of votes when
ballots are manually re-counted;

13.5. The election results allegedly generated from the VCMs and
supposedly contained in the SD cards and transmitted to the Municipal Board of
Canvassers (MBOC) do not reflect the true and correct votes as reflected on
each ballot prepared by the voters in the protested clustered precincts. It is
therefore very important that these ballots be recounted and re-appreciated;

Substitution

13.6. Substitute or impostor voting by certain persons who filled up the

ballots or who “voted” in lieu of the real, legitimate, registered voters were
tolerated by the EBs. The ballots prepared by these persons that contain votes
for protestee EDUARDO D. RELACION were illegally fed into and counted by the
VCMs. This is confirmable by an examination of the Election Day Computerized
Voters List (EDCVL) in the protested clustered precincts and the signatures of
voters contained therein;

Rejected Ballots

13.7. Ballots containing valid votes for protestant RODOLF JOHN G.

DELA CRUZ were REJECTED by the VCMs as evidenced by the substantial
number of nullified votes in the protested precincts that bear no apparent mark or
other sign that would or might cause their nullification. This error resulted in the
massive disenfranchisement of voters. A manual recount and visual examination
of said rejected ballots for protestant RODOLF JOHN G. DELA CRUZ would
show that these ballots are valid ballots that should be counted in his favor;

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 PROTESTED PRECINCTS

14. The afore-mentioned irregularities and other anomalies in the conduct of

the elections were executed, carried-out, and/or committed by Protestee Relacion, his

cohorts, agents, followers, sympathizers, and political leaders in ONE HUNDRED

EIGHTY-SIX (186) PRECINCTS in Forty-Three (43) clustered/merged precincts subject

of this petition, specifically identified as follows:

CLUSTERED NO. OF ESTABLISHED BARANGAY DELA CRUZ RELACION

PRECINCT PRECINCTS PRECINCT NO.   (Protestant) (Protestee)
NO. 
1 4 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B Lower Campo Islam 214 130
2 4 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B Lower Campo Islam 213 169
3 4 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B Upper Campo Islam 229 125
4 5 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 8C Upper Campo Islam 230 171
5 4 9A, 9B,10A, 10B Bagalupa 231 352
6 4 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B Balimbingan 284 173
7 4 13A, 13B, 14A, 14B Balimbingan 252 207
8 4 15A, 16A, 16B, 17A Binayan 209 258
9 4 18A,18B, 19A, 19B Bokong 174 283
10 4 20A, 20B, 21A, 21B Bokong 139 240
11 4 22A, 22B, 23A, 23B Bulanit 159 271
12 4 24A, 24B, 25A, 25B Bulanit 258 219
13 3 26A, 26B, 26C Cogonan 174 230
14 4 27A, 27B, 28A, 28B Cogonan 161 254
15 4 29A, 29B, 30A, 30B Combo 201 241
16 5 31A, 31B, 31C, Dalapang 24 371
32A, 32B
17 5 32C, 33A, 33B, Dalapang 27 320
33C, 34A
18 5 35A,35B, 35C, 36A, Dimasangca 161 253
36B
19 4 37A, 37B, 38A, 38B Dipaya 134 374
20 4 39A, 39B, 40A, 40B Langapod 135 285
21 3 41A, 41B, 42A Langapod 114 219
22 5 43A, 43B, 43C, Lantian 223 388
44A, 44B
23 4 45A, 45B, 46A, 46B Lantian 176 273
24 4 47A, 47B, 48A, 48B Lower Pulacan 77 316
25 4 49A, 49B, 50A, 50B Lower Pulacan 140 335
26 4 51A, 51B, 52A, 52B Lower Sang-an 123 207
27 4 53A, 53B, 53C, 55A New Labangan 159 249
28 4 54A, 54B, 56A, 56B New Labangan 170 267
29 6 57A, 57B, 58A, Noburan 184 432
58B, 59A, 60A
30 5 61A, 61B, 62A, Old Labangan 216 260
62B, 62C

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 31 3 63A, 63B, 63C San Isidro 210 162
32 4 64A, 64B, 65A, 65B San Isidro 242 246
33 6 66A, 66B, 67A, Santa Cruz 147 574
67B, 68A, 68B
34 4 69A, 69B, 70A, 70B Tapodoc 109 266
35 4 71A, 71B, 71C, 72A Tapodoc 100 312
36 1 73A Tawagan Norte 303 337
37 10 74A, 74B, 75A, Tawagan Norte 270 405
75B, 76A, 77A,
78A, 78B, 79A,79B
38 6 80A, 80B, 81A, Upper Pulacan 275 184
81B, 82A, 82B
39 6 83A, 83B, 84A, Upper Pulacan 249 227
84B, 85A, 85B
40 5 86A, 86B, 86C, Upper Pulacan 263 241
87A, 87B
41 4 88A, 89A, 89B, 89C Upper Pulacan 188 191
42 2 90A, 90B Upper Sang-an 37 144
43 5 91A, 91B, 92A, Upper Sang-an 86 368
92B, 92C

TOTAL --------- 186 PRECINCTS

15. In an election that should be clean, free, honest and credible, the

concluded elections in the Municipality of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur showcased

how a man with such an insatiable thirst for power could ruthlessly threaten and

intimidate voters sympathetic to Protestant Dela Cruz from freely casting their ballots

and at broad daylight acted with such impunity and disregard of the law. To illustrate:

15.1. In Clustered Precincts No. 14 (Established Precincts No. 27A,

27B, 28A, 28B), Cogonan, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, a certain Bernardo

Limbawan voted for and in behalf of a certain Minggo Limbawan, his brother. The

watcher of the protestant in this case aptly objected to the irregularity however,

the chairman of EB allowed the former to cast his vote in lieu of Domingo

Limbawan. Fortunately, the protestant’s watcher had her objection entered in the

minutes of the EB. This impostor voting or proxy voting is highly irregular and is

in utter disregard of the law (See attached Affidavit marked as Annex “C”);

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 15.2. In Clustered Precincts No. 24 (Established Precincts No. 47A,

47B, 48A, 48B), and Clustered Precincts No. 25 (Established Precincts No.

49A, 49B, 50A, 50B), both of Lower Pulacan, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur;

and Clustered Precincts No. 6 (Established Precincts No. 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B)

and Clustered Precincts No. 7 (Established Precincts No. 13A, 13B, 14A, 14B),

both of Balimbingan, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, Barangay Officials were

seen present inside the fifty (50) meter radius of the polling place which is a

blatant disregard and in violation of the law (See attached Affidavit marked as

Annex “D” and Annex “E”);

15.3. In Clustered Precincts No. 24 (Established Precincts No. 47A,

47B, 48A, 48B), Lower Pulacan, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, the key to the

lock of the classroom used as a polling precinct in Lower Pulacan Elementary

School was given to the police guarding the area by the Chairman of the EB for

safekeeping. The act of the Chairman of the EB is highly irregular. Giving the

keys of the polling precinct to the police is like giving the police the authority and

the opportunity to commit ballot switching or any irregularities that could affect

the outcome of the election (See attached Joint Affidavit marked as Annex “F”);

15.4 In Clustered Precincts No. 30 (Established Precincts No. 61A,

61B, 62A, 62B, 62C), Old Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, the poll watcher

therein can testify that majority, if not all of the ballots fed into the VCM contained

votes for the protestant. However, when the results came in, he was shocked to

see that the protestant only got two hundred sixteen (216) votes (See Affidavit

marked as Annex “G”);

15.5. In Clustered Precint No. 4 (Established Precincts No. 7A, 7B, 8A,

8B, 8C), Upper Campo Islam, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, a voter casted his

ballot and he shaded the circle # 1 corresponding to the name of the protestant.

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 However, when he checked the Voters’ Verification Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT),

instead of having one (1) which corresponds to a vote casted for the protestant,

nothing appeared on the Mayor field of the same VVPAT. This incident was put

on record on the minutes of the EB (See Affidavit marked as Annex “H”);

16. Based on all the foregoing, it is crystal clear that the election results in the

contested clustered precincts are not reflective of the actual voters cast therein due to

massive irregularities and errors in the counting and canvassing process, to say the

least, the whole automated election system. In certain clustered precincts, the results

were further manipulated through force and intimidation employed by Protestee

Relacion, his agents, political leaders, followers, and supporters, and in most cases,

with the connivance or conspiracy of the Electoral Boards (EBs). Were it not for these

massive fraud, widespread terrorism and other serious irregularities and had the votes

cast in the protested clustered precincts were correctly cast, counted, and canvassed,

the result of the elections for the mayoralty position would have been different and

Protestant Dela Cruz would have been credited with the highest number of votes for

Municipal Mayor in Labangan, Zambonga del Sur. In simple terms, Protestant Dela

Cruz would have emerged as the duly elected Mayor of the Municipality of Labangan,

Zamboanga del Sur;

17. Considering the seriousness of the massive errors and malfunctions of the

automated election system, electoral fraud and irregularities committed and perpetrated

by Protestee Relacion, there is a need for a recount of the ballots and examination or

scrutiny of the election documents in the protested clustered precincts. The result of the

recount of ballots and examination of the ballots and election documents will affect the

presumptive results of the mayoral elections in Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur in a very

substantial degree as to surpass the protestee’s lead;

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 18. The protestant is willing to pay the required cash deposit and have submitted

sufficient copies of this petition for the purpose of summons and notification, upon filing

of this petition of protest.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, Protestant Dela Cruz respectfully prays that:

1. Upon filing of this Petition, a precautionary protection order be issued

directing the Municipal Treasurer and Election Officer concerned, and the custodian to

take immediate steps or measures to safeguard the integrity of all the ballot boxes, lists

of voters with voting records, books of voters and other documents or paraphernalia

used in the election, as well as data storage devices containing electronic data

evidencing the conduct and the results of elections in the contested clustered precincts;

2. An Order be issued directing immediate collection or retrieval of all the

ballot boxes from the one hundred eighty-six (186) contested precincts, with their

keys, list of voters with voting records, books of voters, the electronic data storage

devices, and other documents, paraphernalia, or equipment relative to the clustered

precincts involved in the protest;

3. A Subpoena Duces Tecum be issued to Protestees Ambag, Balimbingan,

Montañez, Ruiz, Talumpa and Ungad for their Certificates of Candidacy (COC) and
Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA);

4. An Order be issued immediately for the recount of the ballots pertaining to

the protested clustered precincts after preliminary conference and upon receipt of the

ballots from the protested clustered precincts;

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 5. After the recount of the ballots and the examination, verification and re-

tabulation of the authentic election returns in the protested clustered precincts, and

upon the determination that Protestant Dela Cruz actually obtained the highest number

of votes for the Municipal Mayoralty position of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, the

Honorable Court to render judgment –

(a) DECLARING Protestant Dela Cruz as the duly elected Municipal Mayor of
Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur; and

(b) ANNULLING and SETTING ASIDE the proclamation of Protestee

Relacion.

Protestant Dela Cruz prays for other just, proper, and equitable reliefs under the
circumstances.

Pagadian City, Zambonga del Sur, Philippines; 28 May 2019.

CERILLES REDELOSA & ASSOCIATES

Counsel for the Protestant
2nd Floor, Javaved Building
Rizal Avenue, Balangasan District
Pagadian City

By:

ATTY. DOMINGO T. REDELOSA IV

Counsel for the Protestant
Attorney’s Roll No. 43603
IBP No. 63630 : 01/05/2019, Pagadian City
PTR No. 3019198 : 01/04/2019, Pagadian City
Email: dtredelosa4@yahoo.com
MCLE Compliance No. VI (number on process)

ATTY. RODOLF JOHN G. DELA CRUZ

(Co-Counsel)
Attorney’s Roll No. 53086
IBP Lifetime No. 018141
PTR. No. 3066196; 20 Feb. 2019, Pagadian City
Email: attybongdelacruz@gmail.com
MCLE Compliance No. VI-0004579; 22 November 2017

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
PROVINCE OF ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR )
MUNICIPALITY OF LABANGAN ) S.S
x - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x

VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NON-FORUM SHOPPING

I, RODOLF JOHN G. DELA CRUZ, of legal age, Filipino citizen, and a resident
of Upper Campo Islam, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, after having been duly sworn to
in accordance with law do hereby deposes and says:

1. That I am the protestant in the above-captioned petition; that I have caused

the preparation of the foregoing petition of election protest, and that I have read all the
contents and allegations thereof to be true and correct to my own knowledge and belief;

2. That I have not commenced any other action or proceeding involving the same
issues in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or different divisions thereof, or any
other tribunal or agency, and that should I learn thereafter that a similar action or
proceeding has been filed or is pending before the aforementioned bodies or tribunal, I
undertake to report the fact within five (5) days therefrom to the court or agency wherein
the original pleading and sworn certification contemplated herein has been filed.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this 21 st day of

May 2019 in the City of Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines.

RODOLF JOHN (BONG) G. DELA CRUZ

Protestant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ____ day of May 2019 in the City
of Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. Affiant exhibited to me his Proof of
Identification bearing number __________________ issued on
____________________ by ________________________.

Doc. No. ____;

Page No. ____;
Book No. ____;
Series of 2019.

Copy furnished:

EDUARDO (EDDIE) D. RELACION

Protestee
Office of the Municipal Mayor
Municipality of Labangan
Zamboanga del Sur

Received by : _______________________

Date : _______________________

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