The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of the President or Vice- President, and may promulgate its rules for the purpose. (Sec. 4, Art. VII, 1987 Constitution)

Facts: 

After Fidel Ramos was declared President, defeated candidate Miriam Defensor-Santiago filed an election protest with the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET). Subsequently, while the case is pending, she ran for the office of Senator and, having been declared elected, assumed office as Senator.


Issue:

Was Santiago's election protest deemed abandoned with her election and assumption of office as Senator?


Held:

Yes. In assuming the office of Senator then, the Protestant has effectively abandoned or withdrawn this protest, or at the very least, abandoned her determination to protect and pursue the public interest involved in the matter of who is the real choice of the electorate. Such abandonment or withdrawal operates to render moot the instant protest. Moreover, the dismissal of this protest would serve public interest as it would dissipate the aura of uncertainty as to the results of the 1992 presidential election, thereby enhancing the all-to crucial political stability of the nation during this period of national recovery. It must also be stressed that under the Rules of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, an election protest may be summarily dismissed, regardless of the public policy and public interest implications thereof, on the following grounds: (1) The petition is insufficient in form and substance; (2) The petition is filed beyond the periods provided in Rules 14 and 15 hereof; (3) The filing fee is not paid within the periods provided for in these Rules; (4) The cash deposit, or the first P 100,000.00 thereof, is not paid within 10 days after the filing of the protest; and (5) The petition or copies thereof and the annexes thereto filed with the Tribunal are not clearly legible. Other grounds for a motion to dismiss, e.g., those provided in the Rules of Court which apply in a suppletory character, may likewise be pleaded as affirmative defenses in the answer. After which, the Tribunal may, in its discretion, hold a preliminary hearing on such grounds. In sum, if an election be dismissed on technical grounds, then it must be, for a decidedly stronger reason, if it has become moot due to its abandonment by the Protestant. (Defensor-Santiago vs. Ramos, P.E.T. Case No. 001. February 13, 1996)