The First Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed the election protest filed by former Misamis Oriental Governor Peter Unabia against incumbent Governor Juliette Uy.
In an eight-page decision released on February 23, the Comelec First Division in Intramuros ruled that the protest failed to comply with the mandatory form and content requirements under Section 7, Rule 6 of Comelec Resolution No. 8804, which outlines the information that must be included when filing an election protest before the poll body.
Unabia’s petition cited alleged irregularities in the reporting of counting and canvassing results, including numerous unexplained rejections of official ballots and the alleged non-issuance of voters’ receipts.
On June 18, 2025, Uy filed her answer with counterclaims, seeking the dismissal of the protest for lack of merit.
In her pleading, she argued that the allegations were based on conjectures and pure speculation, noting that no actual figures were cited to support the claims.
After a thorough review, the Comelec dismissed the protest, stating in its decision that Unabia failed to meet the mandatory legal requirement for specificity.
The Commission said it was not satisfied by mere averments of fraud or anomalies, emphasizing that an election protest must be supported by concrete and particularized allegations, not speculation or suspicion regarding the conduct of the elections.
The decision added that Unabia was unable to sufficiently demonstrate that the election results in the province were tainted by fraud or that there were incidents indicative of election irregularities.
As for the allegation of vote-buying, the Comelec referred the matter to its Law Department for appropriate action.
In a statement issued on February 25, Uy expressed relief over the dismissal of the protest, saying that justice had prevailed.
