Calida casts doubt on Comelec with SC filing 'to ensure 2022 polls integrity'
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Solicitor General has again moved against the Commission on Elections — its statutory client — this time asking the Supreme Court to compel the poll body to enforce elections laws, particularly over the electoral operations of the 2022 polls and the automated election system.
In a statement, the OSG said it filed a Petition for Certiorari, Prohibition and Mandamus "seeking to compel the Comelec to faithfully execute its constitutional duty to enforce elections laws, rules and regulations."
The OSG accused the poll body of violating the Omnibus Election Code and the Republic Act 8436 or the Act Authorizing the Comelec to use an Automated Election System.
“Solicitor General [Jose] Calida said the Comelec, with grave abuse of discretion amounting to excess of jurisdiction, has so far fallen short of its constitutional duty to enforce elections laws, particularly those statutory provisions requiring transparency in its conduct of electoral operations for the 2022 National and Local Elections (NLE) and prescribing the minimum system capabilities of an [AES]," it said.
Like in its recent filings, the OSG announced the petition in a statement but did not release a copy of it.
In particular, the OSG said, the poll body violated the Constitution and RA 8436 in the following instances:
- When the Comelec barred witnesses during the printing of the official ballots
- Performed the configuration and preparation of SD cards sans accredited observers
- Refused open access of source code for proper review, examination, and testing of accredited observers
The Comelec has yet to issue a statement on the petition, but in a CNN report on March 9, Comelec printing committee vice chairperson Helen Aguila-Flores said Commissioner Marlon Casquejo temporarily "postponed" and not "definitely denied" observation of printing of ballots and the configuration of SD cards.
"It's just that during the time that these requests came, the alert level at that time was still, I think, number 2… but with the recent development, I think the response of the committee will soon be adjusted," Aguila-Flores was quoted in the report as saying.
Smartmatic
The OSG added that they are seeking to restrain the Comelec and tech provider Smartmatic from "setting up, maintaining, and operating ‘secret servers’ and/or ‘meeting rooms,’" citing a violation of RA 8436 for defeating the purpose of transparency and credibility.
Allegations of secret servers and meeting rooms were included in presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr's election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo, a protest that the Supreme Court — sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal — has dismissed.
The OSG also argued that part of the AES Contract which makes Smartmatic the copyright owner of the AES software customized for and procured by the Republic of the Philippines is void. It said that this gives Smartmatic authority to participate in review of source codes.
"The OSG’s petition averred that any and all election software 'must be open under full engineering review'," it added.
The OSG earlier filed a petition to the SC asking it to void the Memorandum of Agreement between the Commission on Elections and online news site Rappler for the 2022 national polls.
"It is the OSG’s position that the nation’s future is at risk for the Comelec erroneously chose to partner with a foreign-controlled media company whose license was duly revoked in 2018 and dangerously allowed this pseudo media company to proactively influence the 2022 election," it said.
The Comelec initially said it would have to defend the agreement with Rappler in court but later announced that it would be suspended until the SC acts on the petition against it. — Kristine Joy Patag
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