Garcia refutes Panganiban’s grave abuse of discretion claims
MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia on Wednesday denied the claims of a former chief justice that he committed grave abuse of discretion in the series of decisions made by the poll body.
Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban wrote a column on INQUIRER.net posted Monday saying that he “chastised” Garcia in his past two columns “for repeatedly committing grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.”
READ: Comelec must stop acting abusively, whimsically
Panganiban also said that “[t]o be nullified, the exercise of discretion must not only be abusive, but must be gravely abusive, whimsical, arbitrary, capricious, and actuated by personal bias or hostility or ill will.”
Garcia, however, said that not all abuse of discretion is considered grave. He also questioned whether an error in judgment in decisions made by judges in the country means it is already “whimsical,” “despotic,” or “bordering on something highly illegal and unlawful.”
“If it’s a wrong interpretation of the law or wrong application of the facts and evidence presented, it is not grave abuse of discretion. It is and may be an error in judgment but not an error of jurisdiction,” Garcia said partly in Filipino during a media interview at the Intramuros Museum when asked about Panganiban’s columns, which called Comelec’s decisions a grave abuse of discretion.
Article continues after this advertisement“If there is a mistake in the appreciation of facts or law, it could be considered an abuse of discretion. But not all abuse of discretion is grave,” Garcia noted.
Article continues after this advertisementIn his column titled “Quo vadis, George Erwin Garcia?” Panganiban cited examples, including a Supreme Court decision ruling that the poll body committed grave abuse of discretion by disqualifying Smartmatic Corporation from participating in the bidding for the automated election system for the 2025 polls.
READ: SC: Comelec gravely abused discretion in disqualifying Smartmatic
Panganiban mentioned another case where the High Court issued five temporary restraining orders (TROs) to the Comelec “in five cases based solely on the petitioners’ verified allegations of grave abuse of discretion.”
The TROs led the poll body to immediately halt the printing of ballots, which had begun on January 6.
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