With the recent retirement of three of its officials, the remaining members of the former Commission on Elections (Comelec) First and Second Divisions are given 45 days to dispose of pending cases.
The Comelec has been constantly updating its own Rules of Procedure to ensure an "efficient and speedy" disposition of election cases.
"Within a period of 45 days from the retirement of a Commissioner, the Member-Commissioners of the Former First Division and the Former Second Division...there after shall complete and windup the resolution of the cases previously raffled to the remaining Members as ponente," the poll body said in Resolution No. 10765.
"All pending cases assigned to the retired Chairperson/Commissioners shall be inventoried and thereafter raffled among the remaining members of the Commission (En Banc) or the Former Divisions, as the case may be, unless otherwise directed by the Chairperson/Presiding Commissioners," it further read.
"After the expiration of the 45 day period or upon the assumption to office and designation as members of the regular divisions of new Commissioners, whichever comes first, the Former First Division and Former Second Division shall be automatically dissolved," the Comelec said.
In case a Commissioner is reassigned to another Division, the poll body said, reassigned Commissioner shall bring the pending cases raffled to him/her as ponente in the previous Division to the Regular Division where he/she may be reassigned.
Chairman Sheriff Abas, Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, and Commissioner Antonio Kho retired last Feb. 2.
The membership of the two Divisions of the Comelec has been reorganized following their retirement.