The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that they will hold oral arguments on the petition filed yesterday by veteran election lawyer Atty. Romulo Macalintal against the Commission on Elections and the Office of the President.
In a briefer, the Supreme Court said that they have scheduled the oral arguments on Friday, 3:00 in the afternoon.
Macalintal filed the petition before the Supreme Court, questioning the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 11935 that effectively rescheduled the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to October next year.
He argued that the move is unconstitutional as only the Comelec and not the Congress had the power to postpone the polls.
The petition also contained an “Extremely Urgent Prayer” to issue a temporary restraining order against the said measure.
Both the Comelec and the Office of the President were asked to respond to the petition no later than 12:00 in the afternoon on Friday, three hours before the scheduled oral arguments.
Garcia on Monday welcomed the petition as basis for future decisions related to the elections.