GR 203302; (March, 2013) (Digest)
G.R. No. 203302 ; March 12, 2013
MAYOR EMMANUEL L. MALIKSI, Petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and HOMER T. SAQUILAYAN, Respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Emmanuel L. Maliksi and respondent Homer T. Saquilayan were candidates for Mayor of Imus, Cavite in the May 2010 elections. The Municipal Board of Canvassers proclaimed Saquilayan the winner. Maliksi filed an election protest before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), which, after a manual recount of the physical ballots, declared Maliksi the winner by a margin of 665 votes and ordered Saquilayan to vacate the office. Saquilayan appealed to the COMELEC. During the pendency of the appeal, the RTC granted Maliksi’s motion for execution pending appeal, which Saquilayan challenged before the COMELEC.
The COMELEC First Division, in the appealed election protest, found that the integrity of the physical ballots had been compromised. It then examined the digital images of the ballots stored in the Compact Flash (CF) cards as the best evidence to determine the true will of the electorate. After appreciation, the COMELEC First Division reversed the RTC and declared Saquilayan the winner. The COMELEC En Banc affirmed this resolution. Maliksi filed this petition for certiorari, arguing that the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion by using the digital images instead of the physical ballots.
ISSUE
Whether the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion in using the digital images of the ballots, instead of the official physical ballots, as the primary basis for the recount in the election protest.
RULING
No, the COMELEC did not commit grave abuse of discretion. The Court ruled that under the automated election system, the digital images stored in the CF cards are considered “electronic documents” and are functional equivalents of the official paper ballots. The COMELEC Rules of Procedure explicitly recognize electronic documents, including picture images of ballots, as admissible evidence. When the integrity of the physical ballots is compromised, as expressly found by the COMELEC, the digital images constitute the best and most reliable evidence to ascertain the voters’ intent. The COMELEC’s factual finding of ballot tampering is conclusive upon this Court. Its subsequent decision to examine the digital images was a logical and legally sound exercise of its constitutional mandate to decide election cases, aimed at preserving the sovereign will of the electorate. The appreciation of ballots, whether physical or digital, is within the COMELEC’s expertise, and its findings, when supported by substantial evidence, are accorded finality.