THE House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) has recognized the documentary evidence presented by a losing congressional bet questioning the victory of his opponent in the first district of Lanao del Sur during the May 2010 presidential elections.

Atty. Salic Dumarpa said he considered the HRET’s resolution that his office received last Feb. 6, 2012 as a legal victory against Lanao del Sur Rep. Mohammed Hussein P. Pangandaman, son of former Agrarian Reform Sec. Nasser Pangandaman.

In Resolution 12-021 dated Feb. 2, 2012, he said HRET denied the plea of Pangandaman rejecting his offer of evidence, saying there is no basis to reject the hundreds of pieces of evidence collected by the protestant to prove his allegation that massive fraud attended the elections.

“Without necessarily giving weight to the pieces of evidence offered by the protestant, the Tribunal finds no reason to exclude any of the evidence, taking into account their probative value, materiality and competency,” the HRET said.

“While protestee (Pangandaman) objects to some of the purposes for which the evidence are offered, the matter of whether the pieces of evidence will indeed serve the said purposes can be determined when the Tribunal finally evaluates the weight and significance of each piece of evidence,” it added as the HRET merely noted the objections raised by Pangandaman.