SC gives Comelec 2 days to disclose all poll preparations

The Supreme Court finally intervened in the brewing electoral crisis when it ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday to disclose all its preparations for the country's first automated elections scheduled for Monday, May 10. "The Court may, and given the alarming developments of late in the run-up to the May 10 2010 elections, should compel Comelec to disclose the complete details of its preparations," the court said in a 20-page resolution penned by Senior Justice Antonio Carpio. According to the resolution, the Comelec should make the disclosure within two days upon receipt of the resolution.
Among the details the high court wants the Comelec to make public are the nature and security of all equipment and devices, including hardware and software components, that will be used on election day; the source code for review by interested parties; and the terms and protocols of the random manual audit. The SC also ordered the poll body to show certifications that the entire automated election system (AES) is fully functional with all its continuity plans in place, and that the 240,000 Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) all over the country are trained to use the new election system. The certification on the AES' full functionality must come from the Comelec's Technical Evaluation Committee, while that on BEI training must come from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the court said. The resolution granted the petition filed by former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., Protestant Bishop Leo Soriano, Quintin Doromal, Fe Maria Arriola, Isagani Serrano, and NBN-ZTE whistleblower Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada. The petitioners named the Comelec as the lone respondent. In granting the petition, the SC reminded the Comelec that it has a constitutional mandate to enforce and administer election laws, while the poll chairman and its six commissioners are beholden and accountable to the people they have sworn to serve. "Respondent cannot shirk its constitutional duty to disclose fully to the public complete details of all information relating to its preparations for the May 10, 2010 elections without violating the Constitution and relevant laws," the court said. Concurring with Carpio were Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno and Justices Conchita Carpio Morales, Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura, Teresita J. Leonardo-De Castro, Arturo D. Brion, Diosdado M. Peralta, Lucas P. Bersamin, Mariano C. Del Castillo, Martin S. Villarama, Jr., Jose P. Perez, and Jose C. Mendoza. Dissenting justices were Renato C. Corona, Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr. and Roberto C. Abad. —KBK/JV, GMANews.TV