SC orders Comelec to comment on petition requiring ballot receipts

The Supreme Court (SC) ordered on Tuesday the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to comment on the petition seeking to compel the poll body to print vote receipts during the May 9 elections.

The Comelec has five days to file its comment on the petition lodged by former senator Richard Gordon, said SC spokesman Theodore Te in a press briefing.

Gordon, in his petition for mandamus, said the Voter Verification Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) feature of the voting-counting machines must be activated as this is required under Section 7 of the Republic Act No. 9369 or the Automated Elections System (AES) Law.

He called Comelec a "recidivist," having failed to implement the safeguards to ensure the sanctity of the voting process such as ballot receipts and the use of digital signatures in the last two automated polls (2010 and 2013).

"Because of this continued failure, the integrity of the elections has not been restored as the automated elections law intended. This has got to stop,” said Gordon, who is running for senator.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez earlier defended the poll body's decision not to print vote receipts saying it could be used for vote buying and would extend the voting period by seven hours.

Jimenez said the decision was made following consultation with stakeholders and inputs from several time and motion studies, which indicated that the use of the receipt would have adverse effects on the voting process. —Virgil Lopez/ALG, GMA News