MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said that despite the resignation of Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, lawyer Koko Pimentel cannot take over the vacated Senate position.
“There has to be a proclamation first by the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) that he (Pimentel) won the 2007 elections,” De Lima, who was once counsel for Pimentel, told reporters.
She said Zubiri should formally withdraw his counter-protest to pave the way for Pimentel’s proclamation.
Pimentel’s case with the SET has been pending for four years now. Pimentel filed an election protest against Zubiri who narrowly edged out Pimentel by about 18,000 votes.
A recount in Maguindanao and six other provinces showed that Pimentel was ahead by 257,000 votes.
But he was not proclaimed after the SET opted to proceed with Zubiri’s counter-protest.
Pimentel’s father, former senator Aquilino Pimentel, in a motion urged the SET to dismiss Zubiri’s counter-protest using as basis Zubiri’s motion to indefinitely suspend the revision of votes, which should have started last July 19.
“His motion for indefinite suspension is an abandonment of his counter-protest,” the elder Pimentel added.
Aquilino Pimentel repeated what Supreme Court Associate Justice and SET chairman Antonio Carpio said that even if the revision of votes pushes through, Zubiri could no longer win over his son even if all the 73,000 precincts covered by the counter-protest are reopened.