The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) is an electoral tribunal that decides election protests in the
Senate of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives as ...
. It consists of 6 senators nominated by the Senate, and 3 justices of the
Supreme Court of the Philippines
The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on Ju ...
, who are designated by the
Chief Justice. The equivalent tribunals for elections to the lower house is the
House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal
The House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) is an electoral tribunal that decides election protests in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It consists of six representatives and three justices of the Supreme Court of the Phi ...
and to president and vice presidents is
Presidential Electoral Tribunal
The Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) is an electoral tribunal that decides election protests involving the election of the President of the Philippines and Vice President of the Philippines. It is composed of justices of the Supreme Court o ...
.
The SET is located at SET-HRET Building,
Commission on Audit Compound, Quezon City.
Members of the Tribunal receive a monthly allowance of 100,000
Philippine peso
The Philippine peso, also referred to by its Tagalog name ''piso'' (Philippine English: , , plural pesos; tl, piso ; sign: ₱; code: PHP), is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 ''sentimo'', also called ce ...
s on top of their regular salary.
History
In the 1935 constitution, there were nine members, with three designated by the Chief Justice, three by the largest party in the Senate, and another three from second-largest party. In ''Tañada and Macapagal v. Cuenco, et. al.'', the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruled that the Senate may not elect members who have not been nominated by the parties specified in the constitution. This was after the
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ce ...
moved to include 2 more of its members in 1956 after
Lorenzo Tañada
Lorenzo "Ka Tanny" Martinez Tañada Sr. CCLH (, born Lorenzo Tañada y Martínez; August 10, 1898 – May 28, 1992) was a Filipino nationalist, lawyer, solicitor general, senator, national athlete, and human and civil rights defender best known f ...
, the sole senator not a member of the Nacionalista Party, nominated only himself.
In the 1987 constitution, there were still nine members, but the six senators were now based via proportional representation from the political parties therein.
Membership
The chairperson of the SET is always the most senior justice of the Supreme Court that's sitting in the tribunal.
The three members from the Supreme Court are designated by the chief justice. While there's no regular occurrence on when a chief justice designates members, this is almost certainly done when there is a new justice of the Supreme Court.
The six members from the Senate are named in a resolution of the Senate. This always happens at the organization of the chamber at the start of every new Congress.
These are the members in the 18th Congress, which first convened on July 22, 2019, and whose senators' terms ended on June 30, 2022.
Former senator members
Cases
Most cases, such as the ''
Pimentel v. Zubiri'' case, are election protests, and most are usually resolved when the protestant (the losing candidate) runs on another election; at this point, the tribunal will rule that they have abandoned the case.
A few, such as the ''David v. Poe'' case, are ''
quo warranto
In law, especially English and American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or ...
'' petitions, or questioning if the winner is actually qualified to be a senator.
Successful cases:
*Romero v. Sanidad (1946)
*Rodriguez v. Tan (1947)
*Recto v. de Vera (1949)
*
Pimentel v. Zubiri (2007)
**Tribunal granted the petition in 2011, declaring
Koko Pimentel
Aquilino Martin de la Llana Pimentel III (born January 20, 1964), commonly known as Koko Pimentel, is a Filipino politician and lawyer serving as the Senate Minority Leader since 2022. He has been a Senator since 2011 and previously served as t ...
as duly-elected senator.
Failed cases (since 2000):
* Enrile vs. Recto et. al. (2001)
** Enrile withdrew the protest in 2002.
* Osmeña vs. Biazon, et. al. (2004)
** Osmeña withdrew the protest in 2006.
*
David v. Poe (2015)
** Dismissed the petition in 2015; the Supreme Court then upheld the decision of the SET in 2016
* Tolentino v. de Lima (2016)
** Tolentino withdrew the protest in 2018.
* Mansilungan v. Pimentel and Adan v. Pimentel (2019)
** Dismissed due to lack of merit in 2020.
Seat
The tribunal was formerly found in the SET-HRET Building,
Commission on Audit Compound in Quezon City. However, that building was condemned, and the SET was transferred to the
Philippine International Convention Center
The Philippine International Convention Center ( fil, Sentrong Pangkumbensyong Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas, or PICC) is a convention center located in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. The facility ha ...
in Pasay.
It has then transferred to the Sugar Center Building that houses the
Sugar Regulatory Administration
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA; Filipino: ''Pangasiwaan sa Regulasyon ng Asukal''; Hiligaynon: ''Administrasyon sa Regulasyon sang Kalamay'') is a government-owned and controlled corporation attached to the Department of Agriculture o ...
in Quezon City.
References
External links
Official website{{Philippine Senate
Judiciary of the Philippines
Senate of the Philippines
Electoral courts
1940 establishments in the Philippines