Members of the European Union-Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) paid a courtesy call to the Supreme Court (SC) justices led by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo.

Those who visited the SC were EU-EOM Chief Observer Marta Temido, EU Ambassador Massimo S. Santoro, Deputy Chief Observer Manuel Sánchez de Nogués, EU Press Officer Michela Sechi, and Legal Analyst Ms. Mercè Castells.

Those who joined Chief Justice Gesmundo during the visit were Associate Justices Rodil V. Zalameda, Jose Midas P. Marquez, and Antonio T. Kho Jr. 

The EU-EOM is in the Philippines to observe the May 12 midterm elections “with a focus on the fairness, transparency, and integrity of the electoral process.

The delegation is set to release a preliminary report on its findings on May 14 with a final report expected two months later.

The SC’s Office of the Spokesperson said the visit was conduct to better understand the judiciary’s role in election-related matters. 

Chief Justice Gesmundo explained that the SC handles legal challenges to rulings and orders by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) such as disqualification cases and petitions against nuisance candidates. 

He also highlighted the SC’s function as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, which resolves disputes involving the results of the presidential and vice-presidential elections.

The SC said the visit also reaffirmed the strong partnership between the Philippine Judiciary and the EU, particularly in implementing reforms under the SC’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) 2022-2027. 

It said the EU delegation assured its continued support to the judicial reform efforts in the country. 

Also present during the visit were Deputy Clerk of Court and Judicial Reform Program Administrator lawyer Laura C. H. Del Rosario, Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Technology Officer lawyer Jed Sherwin G. Uy, and Deputy Chief Justice Staff Head lawyer Antonio Ceasar R. Manila.