SC junks bid for poll IRRs

The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking to compel the Commission on Elections to issue implementing rules and regulations and to conduct mandatory public consultations on the selection of the election.

In an en banc decision by Associate Justice Ricardo R. Rosario, the SC ruled that the petition failed to support its claim that there were no IRRs for some safeguards in the conduct of automated elections under Republic Act 9369, the Election Automation Law of 2007.

It said the petition suffered from procedural defects like the failure to submit proof of service, proper verification and certification against forum shopping, and competent evidence on the affiant’s identity in the affidavit of service.

The petition was filed by the Kilusan ng Mamamayan Para sa Matuwid na Bayan, its member organizations Capitol Christian Leadership, Buklod Pamilya Inc., KMP Koalisyong Pangkaunlaran ng Mamamayan, and KNK Anak ng Diyos Kadugo ni Kristo; Jose Lagunsad Gonzales, Vicente Alejo Macatangay Jr., Sharon Faith Samaco Paquiz, Nelson Java Celis, Melchor Gruela Magdamo, Rodrigo G. Cornejo, and Melanio Lazo Mauricio Jr.

The petitioners also sought the SC to compel Comelec to conduct public consultations on properly implementing at least 15 mandatory minimum functional system capabilities for an Automated Election System under Section 7 of RA 9369.

They also want the proper implementation of similar safeguards under other laws and poll procedures that respect the right of watchers to “take photographs of the proceedings and incidents.”

Also, they requested an honest implementation of the Court’s ruling in the Bagumbayan-VNP Movement on Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail until the Audit Trail Stage; the honest implementation of the electronic signature system so that electoral board members may authenticate or reject each electronic transmission of election results before the board proclaims a winning candidate; compliance with Section 19 of RA 9369 requiring the electronic transmission of election return copies directly to the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas free from Smartmatic interference; and a random manual audit that is truly random.