GR 163193; (June, 2004) (Digest)
G.R. No. 163193 ; June 15, 2004
SIXTO S. BRILLANTES, JR., ET AL., petitioners, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, respondent.
FACTS
Petitioner Sixto S. Brillantes, Jr., a voter and taxpayer, filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition seeking to nullify COMELEC Resolution No. 6712, which provided the “General Instructions for the Electronic Transmission and Consolidation of Advanced Results in the May 10, 2004 Elections.” This resolution aimed to implement Phase III (Electronic Transmission) of the COMELEC’s Automated Election System (AES) modernization program. The COMELEC had contracted with Philippine Multi-Media System, Inc. (PMSI) for this electronic transmission project.
The legal backdrop is critical. Congress enacted Republic Act No. 8436 authorizing the COMELEC to use an AES. The COMELEC’s modernization program had three phases: computerized registration (Phase I), computerized voting and counting (Phase II), and electronic transmission (Phase III). Prior to the 2004 elections, the Supreme Court in Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines v. COMELEC nullified the contract for Phase II. Consequently, the May 10, 2004 elections reverted to manual voting and counting. Despite this, the COMELEC proceeded with Phase III, planning to electronically transmit “advanced” results from manually counted election returns.
ISSUE
Whether the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion in implementing Phase III (electronic transmission of results) through Resolution No. 6712, despite the reversion to a manual voting and counting system for the 2004 elections.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court ruled that the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion. The legal logic is anchored on the integral and sequential nature of the Automated Election System as envisioned by R.A. No. 8436 . The law authorizes an automated system for the entire process of voting, counting, and canvassing. The COMELEC’s own modernization program treated the three phases as components of a singular, integrated system.
The Court held that Phase III (electronic transmission) could not be legally severed and implemented independently once Phase II (automated counting) was judicially invalidated. Implementing electronic transmission based on manually generated data was a fundamental deviation from the automated system prescribed by law. The “advanced” results transmitted under Resolution No. 6712 would originate from manually prepared election returns, not from the automated counting machines contemplated by R.A. No. 8436 . This created a hybrid system not authorized by statute. Therefore, the COMELEC’s act of proceeding with Phase III in isolation, after the automated counting foundation was removed, was capricious and whimsical, amounting to grave abuse of discretion. The Resolution was declared null and void.