Pimentel Vs. Zubiri Electoral Protest - Zubiri's Proclamation

Zubiri's Proclamation

In the final tally for the 2007 senatorial race by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), Zubiri narrowly edged out opposition candidate Aquilino Pimentel III for the 12th and last slot in the Senate. Zubiri had a total of 11,005,866 votes against Pimentel's 10,984,347 votes. The margin of some 21,519 votes was hotly contested, particularly the votes from the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, where Pimentel had lost heavily to Zubiri.

Claiming the votes in Maguindanao were tainted, Pimentel petitioned the Philippine Supreme Court to invalidate the votes from Maguindanao, effectively disenfranchising a whole province. The Supreme Court voted unanimously 14–0 against Pimentel and allowed the COMELEC to count the votes in Zubiri's favor. Pimentel then returned to the Supreme Court for the second time. This time, he petitioned them to issue a restraining order against the proclamation of Zubiri. After oral arguments however the High Tribunal again voted to uphold the COMELEC's decision to proclaim Zubiri, consequently failing to grant Pimentel's petition. The next day, July 14, 2007, Zubiri was duly proclaimed elected to the Philippine Senate., However, the Court's judgment did not prevent Pimentel from bringing his poll protests to the Senate Electoral Tribunal.