OSG hauls COMELEC anew before SC

THE Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), again exercising its role as the ‘People’s Tribune,’ hauled the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) anew before the Supreme Court in order to compel the poll body to take full responsibility in the administration of the May 9, 2022 national and local elections as mandated by law and without the interference of Smartmatic.

“With the exclusive constitutional mandate to administer Philippine elections, the COMELEC should be the chief implementor of the 2022 elections,” said OSG Jose Calida Jr., in a statement after the filing of its petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus last April 12, 2022.

The OSG action mirrors the petition for mandamus filed last March 23, 2022 at the SC by the National Press Club (NPC), Guardians Brotherhood and Automated Elections System (AES) Watch, which also called on the COMELEC to be transparent in all its activities before, during and after the elections.

It would also be the second time that the OSG has sought the help of the Supreme Court on behalf of the Filipino electorate after it filed last March 7, 2022 a petition calling on the SC to void the memorandum of agreement signed by the COMELEC with Rappler Philippines, an online media news outfit last February 24, 2022.

It was also the NPC that first objected to the Rappler-COMELEC MOA, citing not only Rappler’s acceptance of funds from US-based groups identified with the US government and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but also, its being the least trusted media outfit in the country (see related article in this issue).

In the latest petition, the OSG highlights that the COMELEC violated the 1987 Constitution and RA 8436 (Automated Election Law) as amended by RA 9369, when it barred witnesses during the printing of official ballots; performed the configuration and preparation of SD (security digital) cards without the presence of accredited observers; and, when it refused open access of source codes for proper review, examination and testing of accredited observers.

The above is also some of the reasons cited by the NPC in their mandamus petition.

The OSG also reminded that as part of its legal mandate and chief implementor of the AES, the COMELEC “should have exclusive control of all servers which will receive electronically-transmitted precinct results.”

The COMELEC, Calida added, “should fully implement the use of digital signatures of the members of the Electoral Board in transmitting election returns.”

Under RA 8436, the 3-members of the Election Board must all affixed their digital signatures on all election returns (ERs). However, the COMELEC is now saying that only one signature would be enough to authenticate and validate all ERs, the NPC has noted.

Calida also asked the SC to “restrain” the COMELEC and Smartmatic from setting up, maintaining and operating “secret servers” or “meeting rooms” as these are not allowed under RA 8436 as their operation “defeats electoral transparency and credibility.”

Calida also averred that the proprietary contract entered into between the COMELEC and Smartmatic that makes the latter the copyright owner of the software to be used in the coming elections should be considered “void” for being “contrary to the letter and spirit of RA 8436 as amended by RA 9369.”

“The OSG’s petition averred that any and all election software procured must be open to full engineering review such that innovation by Filipino technicians and scientists can lead to a truly indigenous software that will govern future elections,” Calida informed the SC further.

After pointing out the COMELEC’s failure to comply with its mandates as provided for by law, the Supreme Court, Calida said, must now step in and “adopt countervailing measures” suggested by the OSG “to further safeguard the integrity of the 2022 national and local elections.”

“I would like to assure the public that the OSG as the People’s Tribune, will not shirk in its bounden responsibility to represent the State’s best interests and protect the Filipino’s constitutional right to elect the next leaders of our country,” Calida said.