Resolution No. 8472

WHEREAS, the Commission shall promulgate its rules of procedure in order to expedite disposition of election cases, pursuant to Section 3 of Article IX (C) of the Constitution which reads:

Section 3. The Commission on Elections may sit en banc or in two divisions, and shall promulgate its rules of procedure in order to expedite disposition of election cases, including pre-proclamation controversies. All such election cases shall be heard and decided in division, provided that motions for reconsideration of decisions shall be decided by the Commission en banc

WHEREAS, the COMELEC Rules of Procedure as of 15 February 1993 (specifically Part VIII, Rule 38, Section 2[e] thereof) provides:

. . .

Section 2. Duties of the Clerks of Court. - The Clerks of Court of the Commission shall, subject to the supervision of the Chairman of the Commission, manage for the Commission the proper hearing and disposition of all cases within their respective area of responsibility as stated in Section 1 hereof. Each shall:

. . .

e. Issues under his signature and the office seal, notices, orders and decisions which are to be given due course, furnishing each Member copies thereof;

. . .

WHEREAS, among the "notices" and "orders... which are to be given due course" are perfunctory interlocutory orders that have no direct effect on the final outcome of their respective cases.

WHEREAS, under the present setup, there is no separation in the preparation of interlocutory orders and substantive orders that resolve issues on the merits, resulting to a jumble that tends to cause overspending of time for review of interlocutory orders at the expense of time for review of substantive orders.

WHEREAS, the waste of time is detrimental not only to the litigating parties but also to the Commission itself.

WHEREAS, under the authority of Section 2(e) of Rule 38, the Commission may delegate to the Clerk the authority to sign interlocutory orders.

WHEREAS, the advantages of speeding up disposition of cases via delegation of authority far outweigh the risk of facing a challenge questioning the delegation of authority.

WHEREAS, in any event, as a safeguard, Section 2(e) of Rule 38 requires the Clerk to furnish each Member of the Commission with copies of all promulgations, whether interlocutory or substantive.

NOW THEREFORE, the Commission RESOLVES, to clarify that the scope of Section 2(e), Rule 38 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure includes interlocutory orders.

Section 1. This Resolution defines interlocutory order as any order which does not yet decide the final outcome of a case and is therefore still unripe for appeal or elevation to a higher authority. For the purpose of this Resolution, an order is interlocutory in any of the following situations:

a) When the order notes the entry or withdrawal of appearance by a legal counsel;

b) When the order notes the change of address by any party or their respective counsels;

c) When the order is a notice to the parties about the schedule or change of schedule of the Commission in connection with the hearing of the case;

d) When the order directs any party to submit clearer photocopies of a document or any portion thereof;

e) When the order notes or directs the correction of a harmless typographical error or wrong sequence of pages;

f) When the order directs a party to supply missing pages in a document when it is obvious from the circumstances that the omission was due to unintentional inadvertence;

g) When the order directs or requires a party to file within five (5) days from receipt of the Order any comment or opposition to a motion for reconsideration, motion to dismiss, motion to withdraw as counsel without conformity of the client coming from an adverse party;

h) When the order refers a pleading to another office within the Commission when that other office has a lawful duty to act or respond to the said pleading;

i) When the order notes a motion for early resolution of a pending case; or

j) Any other order that intends to clarify some confusion or alleviate distress, without causing any undue advantage or disadvantage in favor or against any party, when the consequence of abiding with that order is so insignificant or too trivial to affect the final outcome of the case.

Section 2. The head or Director IV of the ELECTORAL CONTESTS ADJUDICATION DEPARTMENT (ECAD) shall have authority to sign interlocutory orders in all cases pending before the Commission en banc originating from the ECAD in any of the situations under Section 1 a) to j) above-stated.

Section 3. The Clerk of the Commission shall have authority to sign interlocutory orders in all cases pending at the Commission En Banc that are not within the scope of Section 2 herein.

Section 4. Immediately upon signing an interlocutory order, the signatory shall transmit a faithful reproduction thereof to each Member of the Commission.

Section 5. In any party challenges in writing the authority for signing an interlocutory order, the signatory shall have no authority to resolve the challenge and shall immediately elevate the same to the Commission En Banc. Within ten (10) days from receipt of the written challenge, the signatory shall furnish the challenging party with a copy of the document providing elevation of the matter to the Commission En Banc.

Section 6. The Commission shall periodically review the scope of delegation of signing authority therein.

Section 7. This resolution, being an internal clarification of the Rules, shall take effect immediately.

Section 8. Within one month from adoption of this Resolution, for its widest dissemination, the Education and Information Department (EID) shall cause its publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines, and the Information Technology Department (ITD) shall post the same in the official website of the Commission. Within three months from adoption of this Resolution, the EID and/or Internal Records Division and/or Library Division shall file with the University of the Philippines Law Center three (3) certified copies of this Resolution, pursuant to Section 3, Chapter 2, Book VII of the Administrative Code.

SO ORDERED.