Mendoza vs Familara and COMELEC

EN BANC

CONSTANCIO F. MENDOZA, Petitioner,                  - versus - SENEN C. FAMILARA and COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, Respondents.

G.R. No. 191017 Present: CORONA, C.J., CARPIO, VELASCO, JR., LEONARDO-DE CASTRO,* BRION, PERALTA, BERSAMIN, DEL CASTILLO, ABAD, VILLARAMA, JR., PEREZ, MENDOZA, SERENO, REYES, and PERLAS-BERNABE, JJ. Promulgated: November 15, 2011

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RESOLUTION

PEREZ, J.:

This petition raises a far from novel issue, i.e., the constitutionality of Section 2[1] of Republic Act No. 9164 (entitled "An Act Providing for SynchronizedBarangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, amending RA No. 7160, as amended, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991"). As other barangay officials had done in previous cases,[2] petitioner Constancio F. Mendoza (Mendoza) likewise questions the retroactive application of the three-consecutive term limit imposed on barangay elective officials beginning from the 1994 barangay elections.

We here have a special civil action, designated by Mendoza as a “petition for review on certiorari under Rule 64 in relation to Rule 65 of the Rules of Court,” seeking to annul and set aside the Resolution[3] of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) En Banc.

Mendoza was a candidate for Barangay Captain of Barangay Balatasan, Oriental Mindoro in the 29 October 2007 Barangay Elections. As required by law,Mendoza filed a certificate of candidacy. Prior thereto, Mendoza had been elected as Barangay Captain of Barangay Balatasan for three (3) consecutive terms, on 9 May 1994, 12 May 1997 and 15 July 2002.

On 26 October 2007, respondent Senen C. Familara (Familara) filed a Petition to Disqualify Mendoza averring that Mendoza, under Section 2 of RA No. 9164, is ineligible to run again for Barangay Captain of Barangay Balatasan, having been elected and having served, in the same position for three (3) consecutive terms immediately prior to the 2007 Barangay Elections.

Posthaste, Mendoza filed his Answer[4] refuting Familara’s allegations and asseverating the following:

1. That he has the qualifications and none of the disqualification to vote and be voted for in the October 29, 2007 Barangay Elections for Barangay Balatasan, Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro;

2.  [He] further AFFIRMS that he has duly-filed his Certificate of Candidacy for Punong Barangay of Barangay Balatasan, Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro;

3. [He] RAISES THE QUESTION of the legal personality of [respondent Senen] Familara because:

a. He is not a party in interest in the Barangay Elections for Punong Barangay at Barangay Balatasan;

b.   He is not a resident nor registered voter of Barangay Balatasan;

c.   He is not a candidate to any elective position for Barangay Balatasan in the scheduled October 29, 2007 Barangay Elections;

4. That while the proper party in interest to file a petition for disqualification is any registered voter of Barangay Balatasan, the instant petition is intended to benefit the only other candidate for Punong Barangay for Balatasan in the forthcoming elections, TOMAS PAJANEL, but said person is a permanent resident not only of a Barangay different from Barangay Balatasan but worse, said person is a permanent resident of Bulalacao’s adjoining town, Mansalay;

                                    xxx

6. The petition suffers from legal infirmities;

                                    xxx

            The present petition is premature. It should be filed within ten (10) days from proclamation of election results.

            Further, [Senen] Familara is not a proper party to file the petition. It must be filed by a candidate who has duly filed a certificate of candidacy and has been voted for the same office.

            Finally, the petition was filed before the wrong forum. It must be filed before the Municipal Trial Court. The COMELEC has the exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all contests x x x involving elective barangay officials decided by trial courts of limited jurisdiction.

On 13 November 2007, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Assistant Regional Election Director of Region IV, Atty. Jocelyn V. Postrado, issued a Resolution[5] recommending that necessary action be filed against Mendoza for misrepresenting himself as a qualified candidate for the position of Barangay Captain of Balatasan:

RESOLUTION/RECOMMENDATION

            Pursuant to the delegated authority vested to the undersigned by the Omnibus Election Law and other election laws and after issuing the necessary summons to MR. CONSTANCIO F. MENDOZA on the above Petition for Disqualification filed by Mr. Senen C, Familara, which to no avail this office until now has not yet received the required affidavits from Mr. Mendoza, and wherein by said act and under our COMELEC Rules of Procedure, he is deemed to have expressly waived his right to present evidence in his defense. xxx

            Ruling on the submitted petition and supporting evidence, we find Mr. Mendoza to have completed the three (3) term-limit and yet, still ran for office knowing that he was prohibited. Please find a copy of the Certification issued by the Office of the Election Officer, Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro verifying that Mr. Mendoza filed a Certificate of Candidacy for the position ofPunong Barangay. His act of misrepresenting himself as qualified to run for the said position of Punong Barangay at Balatasan, Municipality of Bulalacao, Province of Oriental Mindoro in the 29 October 2007 Barangay Elections, is in violation of Section 2 of Republic Act No. 9164, the Omnibus election Law and other election laws.

            WHEREFORE, premises considered, the undersigned hereby recommends that necessary action be filed against MR. CONSTANCIO F. MENDOZA.

Undaunted, Mendoza filed a flurry of motions: (1) an Ex-Parte Motion to Recall;[6] (2) Ex-Parte Motion to Dismiss;[7] and (3) Ex-Parte Motion to Resolve,[8]all aiming to forestall the implementation of the          13 November 2007 Resolution of the COMELEC Assistant Regional Election Director of Region IV, Atty. Postrado, and the continuation of the Petition for Disqualification filed by Familara against Mendoza.

In another turn of events, Mendoza won in the elections; he was proclaimed Barangay Captain of Balatasan.

Consequently, Mendoza’s rival, Thomas Pajanel, filed a petition for quo warranto and mandamus against Mendoza before the Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) of Mansalay-Bulalacao docketed as Election Case No. 407-B. Pajanel contended that Mendoza is ineligible to occupy the position of Barangay Captain of Balatasan, having been elected and having already served as such for three (3) consecutive terms.

In yet another setback, the MCTC promulgated its Decision and disqualified Mendoza in accordance with the three-consecutive term rule provided in Section 2 of RA No. 9164. Not unexpectedly, Mendoza appealed the MCTC Decision before the COMELEC. The appeal is docketed as EAC (BRGY) No. 101-2008 and is pending before the COMELEC Second Division.

On the other litigation front concerning the Petition for Disqualification filed by Familara against Mendoza, the COMELEC First Division issued a Resolution[9]agreeing with the recommendation of the COMELEC Assistant Regional Election Director of Region IV that Mendoza is disqualified from running as BarangayCaptain of Balatasan under the three-consecutive term limit rule. The COMELEC shot down Mendoza’s technical objections to the Petition for Disqualification, to wit:

            [Mendoza’s] contentions that the petition [for disqualification] should be dismissed as [Familara] lacks the personality to file the said petition since the latter is neither a candidate nor a registered voter of Barangay Balatasan, Municipality of Bulalacao, that it was prematurely filed and was filed before a wrong forum are untenable.

            It is undisputed that the instant case is a Petition for Disqualification involving barangay officials, hence, Section 11 in relation to Section 10 of COMELEC Resolution No. 8297 issued on September 6, 2007 is the applicable rule with respect to the qualifications of [Mendoza], period of filing and the tribunal to file the same.

            Section 11 in relation to Section 10 of COMELEC Resolution No. 8297 provides that:

            Sec. 10.           Petition to deny due course to or cancellation of a certificate of candidacy. – A verified petition to deny due course to or cancel a certificate of candidacy pursuant to Sec. 69 (nuisance candidate) or Sec. 78 (material misrepresentation in the certificate of candidacy) of the Omnibus Election Code shall be filed directly with the office of Provincial Election Supervisor concerned by any registered candidate for the same office personally or through a duly-authorized representative within five (5) days from the last day for filing of certificate of candidacy. In the National Capital Region, the same be filed directly with the Office of the Regional Election Director.

            In the Provinces where the designated Provincial Election Supervisor is not a lawyer the petition shall be filed with the Regional Election Director concerned.

            Filing by mail is not allowed.

            Within twenty four (24) hours from receipt of the petition, the Provincial Election Supervisor or the Regional Election Director of the National Capital Region, as the case may be, shall issue the corresponding summons requiring the respondent candidate to answer the petition within three (3) days from receipt. Immediately upon receipt of the answer, the petition shall be set for hearing for the reception of evidence of the parties but not later than five (5) days from the service of summons. The Resolution of the Hearing Officer shall be submitted to the Commission through the Clerk of the Commission within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the petition.

            Sec. 11.           Petition for Disqualification. – A verified petition to disqualify a candidate on the ground of ineligibility or under Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code may be filed at anytime before proclamation of the winning candidate by any registered voter or any candidate for the same office. The procedure prescribed in the preceding section shall be applicable herein.

            xxx

            All disqualification cases filed on the ground of ineligibility shall continue although the candidate has already been proclaimed.

            Applying the above-cited provisions in the case at bar, it only requires the petitioner to be a registered voter for him to acquire locus standi to file the instant petition. Further, it provides that a petition for disqualification must be filed at any time before the proclamation of the winning candidate. Furthermore, it also requires that the said petition must be filed with the Provincial Election Supervisor or Regional Election Director, as the case may be. It is clear that in the present case these requirements under the above-cited provisions of the law have been complied.

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Commission (First Division) GRANTS the Petition. [Petitioner], Constancio Farol Mendoza, having already served as Punong Barangay of Barangay Balatasan, Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro for three consecutive terms is hereby DISQUALIFIED from being a candidate for the same office in the October 29, 2007 Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections. Considering that [Mendoza] had already been proclaimed, said proclamation is hereby ANNULLED. Succession to said office shall be governed by the provisions of Section 44 of the Local Government Code.[10]

Mendoza filed a Motion to Recall Resolution, to Dismiss the Case and to Conduct Appropriate Investigation to Determine Criminal and Administrative Liability[11] before the COMELEC En Banc, seeking the reversal of the Resolution of the COMELEC First Division.

In a Resolution[12] dated 23 December 2009, the COMELEC En Banc denied the Motion to Recall for lack of merit. It dismissed Mendoza’s arguments, thus:

            It appears from Section 10 of Resolution No. 8297 that the [COMELEC] has indeed jurisdiction to entertain this petition in the first place. The petition was filed on September 23, 2007, or less than five days from the last day of filing the certificates of candidacy for the position of Punong Barangay. The assistant Regional Director proceeded to issue subpoena, and thereafter, submitted her Resolution/Recommendation which was forwarded to the [COMELEC] for appropriate action through the Clerk of the [COMELEC].

            The records of the case would reveal that this petition has run its normal course. The allegation of Mendoza that he was allegedly deprived of due process is of no avail. It appears from the registry return receipt attached to the records of the case that summons were duly received by Mendoza on October 24, 2007, as such, he is bound to answer the allegations of the petition within three days from receipt. Failing in this respect, Mendoza is said to have waived his right to file his answer within the time given by the Rules.

            Furthermore, we cannot subscribe to the argument of Mendoza that the pendency of the proceedings before the Second Division docketed as EAC (Brgy) 101-2008 would merit the dismissal of this petition.

            xxx

            The Supreme Court held in the case of Sunga vs. COMELEC, and Lonzanida v. COMELEC, that:

“This court has held that the clear legislative intent is that the COMELEC should continue the trial and hearing of the disqualification case to its conclusion, i.e., until judgment is rendered. The outright dismissal of the petition for disqualification filed before the election but which remained unresolved after the proclamation of the candidate sought to be disqualified will unduly reward the said candidate and may encourage him to employ delaying tactics to impede the resolution of the petition until after he has been proclaimed.”

            Considering that [the COMELEC] is tasked with the duty to continue with the trial and hearing of the disqualification case of Mendoza to its conclusion despite the pendency of EAC (Brgy) No. 101-2008, then there is no cogent reason to disturb the Resolution of the First Division dated September 18, 2008.[13]

          Unperturbed, Mendoza filed the instant petition alleging grave abuse of discretion in the 23 December 2009 Resolution of the COMELEC En Banc. Mendozainsists that the disqualification case should have been dismissed, or, at the least, consolidated with the quo warranto case on appeal before the COMELEC Second Division because the latter case stems from a judicial proceeding which “followed strictly the requirements of law and the rules.” Mendoza then blithely puts in issue the constitutionality of the retroactive application to the 1994 Barangay Elections of the three-consecutive term limit rule. For good measure, Mendoza asserts denial of due process as would invalidate the disqualification proceedings against him and his resulting disqualification from the race for Barangay Captain of Balatasan.

The jettisoning of the petition is inevitable: the holding of the October 2010 Barangay Elections makes the issues posed by petitioner moot and academic.

Before anything else, we note the apparent mix-up in Mendoza’s designation of the present petition. He alleged grave abuse of discretion, but incorrectly specified in the prefatory statement of the petition that it is a “petition for review on certiorari.”

For clarity and to obviate confusion, we treat the instant petition as one filed under Rule 64 in relation to Rule 65 of the Rules of Court since the totality of the allegations contained therein seek to annul and set aside the Resolution of the COMELEC en banc because it is tainted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. As we have also noted in Mendoza v. Mayor Villas,[14] another case filed by Mendoza before us where Mendoza did not specify under which Rule (45 or 65) his petition was being filed, this Court has the discretion to determine whether a petition was filed under Rule 45 or 65 of the Rules of Court.

Even without going into Mendoza’s penchant for filing confused petitions, the supervening event that is the conduct of the 2010 Barangay Elections renders this case moot and academic. The term of office for Barangay Captain of Balatasan for the 2007 Barangay Elections had long expired in 2010 following the last elections held on October 25 of the same year.

A moot and academic case is one that ceases to present a justiciable controversy by virtue of supervening events, so that a declaration thereon would be of no practical value. As a rule, courts decline jurisdiction over such case, or dismiss it on ground of mootness.[15]

Certainly, the rule is not set in stone and permits exceptions. Thus, we may choose to decide cases otherwise moot and academic if: first, there is a grave violation of the Constitution; second, the exceptional character of the situation and the paramount public interest involved; third, the constitutional issue raised requires formulation of controlling principles to guide the bench, the bar and the public; or fourth, the case is capable of repetition yet evasive of review.[16] None of the foregoing exceptions calling for this Court to exercise jurisdiction obtains in this instance.

The justiciability of the present petition is further decimated by our recent ruling in Mendoza v. Mayor Villas:[17]

With the conduct of the 2010 barangay elections, a supervening event has transpired that has rendered this case moot and academic and subject to dismissal.  This is because, as stated in Fernandez v. Commission on Elections, "whatever judgment is reached, the same can no longer have any practical legal effect or, in the nature of things, can no longer be enforced."  Mendoza's term of office has expired with the conduct of last year's local elections. As such, Special Civil Action No. 08-10, where the assailed Orders were issued, can no longer prosper.  Mendoza no longer has any legal standing to further pursue the case, rendering the instant petition moot and academic. (emphasis supplied)

         

In any event, upon a perusal of the merits or lack thereof, the petition is clearly dismissible.

Our decision in COMELEC v. Cruz[18] settles, once and for all, the constitutionality of the three-consecutive term limit rule reckoned from the 1994 Barangay Elections. We unequivocally declared, thus:

The Retroactive Application Issue

            xxx

            Our first point of disagreement with the respondents and with the RTC is on their position that a retroactive application of the term limitation was made under RA No. 9164. Our own reading shows that no retroactive application was made because the three-term limit has been there all along as early as the second barangay law (RA No. 6679) after the 1987 Constitution took effect; it was continued under the [Local Government Code] and can still be found in the current law. We find this obvious from a reading of the historical development of the law.

            The first law that provided a term limitation for barangay officials was RA No. 6653 (1988); it imposed a two-consecutive term limit. After only six months, Congress, under RA No. 6679 (1988), changed the two-term limit by providing for a three-consecutive term limit. This consistent imposition of the term limit gives no hint of any equivocation in the congressional intent to provide a term limitation. Thereafter, RA No. 7160 - the LGC - followed, bringing with it the issue of whether it provided, as originally worded, for a three-term limit for barangayofficials. We differ with the RTC analysis of this issue.

           

Section 43 is a provision under Title II of the LGC on Elective Officials. Title II is divided into several chapters dealing with a wide range of subject matters, all relating to local elective officials, as follows: a. Qualifications and Election (Chapter I); b. Vacancies and Succession (Chapter II); c. Disciplinary Actions (Chapter IV) and d. Recall (Chapter V). Title II likewise contains a chapter on Local Legislation (Chapter III).

            These Title II provisions are intended to apply to all local elective officials, unless the contrary is clearly provided. A contrary application is provided with respect to the length of the term of office under Section 43(a); while it applies to all local elective officials, it does not apply to barangay officials whose length of term is specifically provided by Section 43(c). In contrast to this clear case of an exception to a general rule, the three-term limit under Section 43(b) does not contain any exception; it applies to all local elective officials who must perforce includebarangay officials.

            An alternative perspective is to view [Section] 43(a), (b) and (c) separately from one another as independently standing and self-contained provisions, except to the extent that they expressly relate to one another. Thus, [Section] 43(a) relates to the term of local elective officials, except barangay officials whose term of office is separately provided under Sec. 43(c). [Section] 43(b), by its express terms, relates to all local elective officials without any exception. Thus, the term limitation applies to all local elective officials without any exclusion or qualification.

            Either perspective, both of which speak of the same resulting interpretation, is the correct legal import of Section 43 in the context in which it is found in Title II of the LGC.

                                                xxx

            All these inevitably lead to the conclusion that the challenged proviso has been there all along and does not simply retroact the application of the three-term limit to the barangayelections of 1994. Congress merely integrated the past statutory changes into a seamless whole by coming up with the challenged proviso.

            With this conclusion, the respondents’ constitutional challenge to the proviso—based on retroactivity—must fail.[19]

            WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is hereby DISMISSED. The COMELEC Resolutions dated 18 September 2008 and 23 December 2009 in SPA (Brgy.) 07-243 are AFFIRMED.

            SO ORDERED.

           

                                                JOSE PORTUGAL PEREZ

                                                Associate Justice

         

WE CONCUR:

RENATO C. CORONA

Chief Justice

ANTONIO T. CARPIO Associate Justice	PRESBITERO J. VELASCO, JR. Associate Justice
(on official leave) TERESITA J. LEONARDO-DE CASTRO Associate Justice	ARTURO D. BRION Associate Justice
DIOSDADO M. PERALTA Associate Justice	LUCAS P. BERSAMIN Associate Justice
MARIANO C. DEL CASTILLO Associate Justice	ROBERTO A. ABAD Associate Justice
MARTIN S. VILLARAMA, JR. Associate Justice	JOSE CATRAL MENDOZA Associate Justice

MARIA LOURDES P. A. SERENO                          BIENVENIDO L. REYES

            Associate Justice                                                      Associate Justice

ESTELA M. PERLAS-BERNABE

Associate Justice

C E R T I F I C A T I O N

          Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution, I certify that the conclusions in the above decision had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court.

                                                 RENATO C. CORONA

                                                 Chief Justice

---

*              On official leave.

[1]  Sec. 2.    Term of Office. –The term of office of all barangay and sangguniang kabataan                 officials                 after the effectivity of this Act shall be three (3) years.

                                No barangay elective official shall serve for more than three (3) consecutive terms in the                 same position: Provided, however, That the term of office shall be reckoned from the 1994          barangay elections.Voluntary renunciation of office for any length of time shall not be         considered as an interruption in the continuity of service for the full term for which the elective                 official was elected. (Emphasis supplied)

[2]  See COMELEC v. Cruz, G.R. No. 186616, 20 November 2009, 605 SCRA 167; Monreal v.              COMELEC, G.R. No. 184935, 21 December 2009, 608 SCRA 717.

[3]   Dated 23 December 2009, rollo pp. 34-39.

[4]   Id. at 40-44.

[5]   Id. at 46.

[6]   Id. at 47-49.

[7]               Id. at 50-51.

[8]               Id. at 52-56.

[9]               Dated 18 September 2008, rollo, pp. 28-33.

[10]             Id. at 31-33.

[11]             Id. at 57-63.

[12]             Id. at 34-39.

[13]             Id. at 36-38.

[14]             G.R. No. 187256, 23 February 2011.

[15]             Gunsi v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 168792, 23 February 2009, 580 SCRA 70, 76.

[16]             David v. Macapagal-Arroyo, G.R. Nos. 171396, 171409, 171485, 171483, 171400, 171489,          171424, 3 May 2006, 489 SCRA 160, 214-215.

[17]             Supra note 14.

[18]             G.R. No. 186616, 20 November 2009, 605 SCRA 167.

[19]             Id. at 183-185, 189.

Last day for filing petitions for registration of political parties

RESOLUTION No. 9294

IN THE MATTER OF THE LAST DAY FOR FILING PETITIONS FOR REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES, AND PETITIONS FOR REGISTRATION OF PARTIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND COALITIONS UNDER THE PARTY-LIST SYSTEM OF REPRESENTATION

(Promulgation:  07 October 2012)

WHEREAS, during the May 10, 2010 automated elections, the Commission experienced administrative problems in the processing of numerous petitions for registration of political parties, and petitions for registration of parties, organizations and coalitions under the party-list system of representation;

COMELEC presents high profile witnesses in 2007 Maguindanao poll fraud

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) today presented fourteen (14) Election Officers and one (1) Computerized Voters List Technician (CVL Tech) from the Province of Maguindanao who were witnesses to large-scale election fraud perpetrated in the Province during the 2007 Senatorial Elections.

Also presented today is former Maguindanao Provincial Administrator Norie K. Unas, said to be former Governor Datu Andal Sr.’s right hand man. 

According to COMELEC Chairman Sixto Brillantes, Unas was “the person who stage-managed” the election fraud in the Province “upon instruction from the highest official of the land” at that time.

“The 2007 elections in Maguindanao was marred by an absolute commission of fraud and irregularity,” said Brillantes, who, with Department of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and COMELEC Commissioner Elias R. Yusoph, led the press conference this morning at the poll body’s Main Office.

Unas and the fifteen Election Officials and personnel submitted their respective Affidavits before the COMELEC, detailing their knowledge in election irregularities in the 2007 polls.

In his Affidavit, Unas directly linked former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her spouse former First Gentleman Atty. Mike Arroyo in 2007 Maguindanao election fraud. 

Unas, in his affidavit, said President Arroyo’s instruction to Datu Andal during a dinner meeting held at Malacañang Palace days before the 2007 elections was: “Dapat 12-0 sa Maguindanao, kahit pa ayusin o palitan niyo ang resulta.”

Unas also said that he was told by Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan that, “Utos ni FG, kelangang 12-0 ang result sa Mguindanao… at kailangan walang makuhang boto si Cayetano.” 

He said this came after Ampatuan met with the former First Gentleman at the LTA Building in Makati.  Unas accompanied Ampatuan during that meeting.

DOJ Secretary de Lima, for her part, cited the significance of Unas’ testimony, saying that “this is the first time that a witness has direct personal knowledge pointing to the first couple” as alleged perpetrators of election fraud.

Resolution No. 9279 - Reception of Multi-Type Voter Applications

Resolution No. 9279

RECEPTION OF MULTI-TYPE OF APPLICATIONS SUCH AS:  

(1) TRANSFER WITH REACTIVATION AND CORRECTION OF ENTRIES; 

(2) REACTIVATION WITH CORRECTION OF ENTRIES; AND (3) TRANSFER WITH CORRECTION OF ENTRIES, IN CONNECTION WITH THE RESUMPTION OF THE SYSTEM OF CONTINUING REGISTRATION OF VOTERS IN THE NON-ARMM AREAS

WHEREAS, in Resolution No. 9149 dated February 22, 2011, the Commission on Elections promulgated Rules and Regulations for the Resumption of the System of Continuing Registration of Voters and Validation of Registration in the Non-ARMM Areas;

WHEREAS, said Resolution covers the reception of applications for registration, transfer from another district/city and municipality, transfer within the same city/municipality, reactivation, reactivation with transfer, reinstatement in the list of voters, inclusion of registration record in the Book of Voters, correction of entries and validation;

WHEREAS, in the first quarter of registration period it was observed that various applicants filed more than one or multi-type of applications with the Office of the Election Officers such as (1) transfer with reactivation and correction of entries, (2) reactivation with correction of entries, (3) and transfer with correction of entries.  The said nature of applications is not covered in the existing rules and regulations and current Voter Registration System (VRS) installed in the voter Registration Machines (VRMs);

WHEREAS, in view of the absence of the rules and regulations and the applicable system to serve the multi-type of applications, the applicants were required to return back to the Office of the Election Officers on the next quarter of registration period to complete the other transaction, thereby causing inconvenience to the voters;

NOW THEREFORE, pursuant to the powers vested in it by the Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code, Republic Act No. 8189 and other related laws, the Commission on Elections has RESOLVED, as it hereby RESOLVES, to adopt the following guidelines, by way of supplemental to the existing rules and regulations in Resolution No. 9149, in order to accommodate multi-type of applications and to avoid inconvenience to the applicant-voters in connection with the continuing registration of voters in Non-ARMM areas:

  

A.   During the registration period, the Election Officers/Acting Election Officers/Election Assistants shall:

1. Accept and process applications for transfer with reactivation and correction of entries, reactivation with correction of entries; and transfer with correction of entries.  The procedures embodied in Resolution No. 9149 in so far as the manner of the reception, verification of the applications filed and the taking of demographics and biometrics data if necessary shall be strictly observed;
2. The voter-applicants shall accomplish the prescribed forms corresponding to the types of transaction applied for; and 
3. The total number of multi-type of applications filed in the Office of the Election Officer shall be reflected in the Quarterly Progress Report.

B.     The Information Technology Department shall facilitate the necessary changes in the program/system to incorporate the above multi-type of applications in the VRM.

Let the Election and Barangay Affairs Department and Information Technology Department implement this Resolution.

SO ORDERED.

	SIXTO S. BRILLANTES, JR. Chairman
RENE V. SARMIENTO Commissioner		LUCENITO N. TAGLE Commissioner
ARMANDO C. VELASCO Commissioner		ELIAS R. YUSOPH Commissioner
CHRISTIAN ROBERT S. LIM Commissioner		AUGUSTO C. LAGMAN Commissioner

Poll workers stage nationwide streamer hanging to demand salary adjustment

Commission on Elections (COMELEC) employees in the central and field offices will be putting up posters and streamers calling for the adjustment on their salaries during their lunch break on Friday, September, 2011.

Under the auspices of the COMELEC Wage Fight! Alliance, a coalition of poll workers united in pushing for wage increase, the activity aims to “highlight the growing clamour of COMELEC employees for a substantial increase in our salaries.”

“Through the participation of COMELEC rank and file employees in all corners of the country (in the nationally coordinated streamer/poster hanging) we hope to be able to send a strong message that our call has reached the national level,” the group said.

Main Office

Palacio del Gobernad

According to the COMELEC Wage Fight! The calls for tomorrow’s activity include:

• EQUAL WORK, EQUAL PAY!
• ITAMA ANG SAHOD SA COMELEC!
•  CORRECT THE UNJUST WAGE DISPARITY!
• 3-5 SALARY GRADE INCREASE NOW!

OEO Daraga, Albay

Mac Ramirez, convenor of the COMELEC Wage Fight Alliance, explains that there is a “glaring disparity” in the salary schedule of COMELEC employees as compared to employees in their government agencies.

“The salary that we receive here in the COMELEC is not at par with those received by workers in other government agencies corporations, financial institutions and constitutional bodies.  The disparity ranges from three to five salary grade levels,” he said.

Legazpi City

Ramirez cited for example that a Clerk I position in the COMELEC only has a Salary Grade (SG) level 3, while in other government agencies the lowest SG level for Clerks is SG7.

Election Officers, which holds the sacred responsibility of supervising the conduct of elections at the ground level, are likewise victimized by this glaring wage gap according to Ramirez.

Camarines Sur

“They only hold an SG level 12 (for small electoral municipality) and SG 21 (for capital towns and cities); yet, considering their workload and actual responsibilities, the position of Election Officer is equivalent to that of a Division Chief level which has SG 24.”

POLL WORKERS TO SENATE: “RAISE OUR APPEAL FOR WAGE INCREASE TO BRILLANTES ON CA HEARING”

COMELEC Wage Fight Convenor Armando Mallorca, on September 8, 2011, presents to Chairman Sixto Brillantes the Alliance's position paper on the proposed salary adjustment of COMELEC personnel. Prior to this, COMELEC Wage Fight leaders (Mallorca, Mac Ramirez, Gel Gerardino) discussed our position with the Chairman. The Chairman was open to our proposal and has agreed to set a series of meetings to iron out our salary increase before 2012.

“The imminent increases in petroleum, transportation, toll and water costs more than justifies our appeal for a substantial increase in our salaries.  We hope that the COMELEC, under the leadership of Chairman Sixto Brillantes, would look into the deplorable plight of the COMELEC rank and file and grant our appeal,” Ramirez said.

In support for Nanay & Tatay

Concludes Ramirez: “As the Honourable Chairman is set to appear before the powerful Committee on Appointments next week, we appeal to the Senators to take on the cudgels for the COMELEC rank and file, and raise our demand for a substantial wage increase with Chairman Brillantes as he takes the hot seat for his confirmation hearing.” 

House OKs allocation of P8 billion for 2013 poll automation

MANILA, Philippines - The House appropriations committee has endorsed the allocation of nearly P8 billion for the automation of the May 2013 congressional and local elections.

The amount is 80 percent of the P10-billion 2012 budget of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The money will be for the purchase or lease of computer machines to be used in the casting of ballots and counting of votes.

They would be similar to the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines used in the May 2010 elections.

To save on cost, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez urged Comelec officials to study whether the PCOS units they leased from Smartmatic, the poll body’s automation contractor, could still be used in 2013 with some safeguards.

He said the Comelec has already paid Smartmatic more than P6 billion and has the option under its contract to purchase the PCOS machines at a discounted price of P1.8 billion.

“If we can use those machines for 2013 and one more national election, we will be saving taxpayers at least P6.2 billion,” he said.

Comelec Commissioner Gus Lagman, who was against the use of PCOS in 2010 when he was a private information technology consultant, said it was not practical for the poll body to buy PCOS machines.

He said warehousing would be a problem, plus the fact that technology changes fast.

He added it would be better for the Comelec to lease instead of buying the machines it would use in 2013.

Rodriguez, a member of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), said he, like Lagman, did not believe in PCOS when the Comelec was trying to convince lawmakers and the public about the technology.

“But now I am a believer. I saw how accurate the PCOS results were when we matched them with the actual count of votes in resolving election protest cases in the HRET. Because of their accuracy, we are now about to resolve all cases,” he said.

Because PCOS tabulation results were available at the municipal, city and provincial levels, Rodriguez said the nation knew in a few days that then Sen. Benigno Aquino III won the 2010 presidential election.

“Long before the official congressional canvass started, we knew President Aquino won. The Filipino people and foreign governments were already congratulating him. Election operators could not tamper with the PCOS. It would have been a different story if the old manual, cheating-prone system were used,” he stressed.

The lawmaker said that if the Comelec decides to use the PCOS, it should put in place additional safeguards since election operators and cheaters might have already studied how the technology works.

Besides the P8 billion in automation funds, the 2012 Comelec budget includes P123.2 million for the resumption of the system of continuing registration.

The poll body sought an additional P51.5 million for preparations for overseas absentee voting, but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) gave the money to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The Comelec intends to use the bulk of the funds for travel expenses since it would have to send teams to countries where there are large numbers of Filipinos.

The DBM transferred the money to the DFA apparently to save on cost.

COMELEC rushes preps for 2013 polls

To avoid further delay in the preparations for the 2013 elections, the Comelec pushed for the immediate convening of the poll body’s advisory council.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said there is a need for the newly created Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) to immediately convene the Comelec Advisory Council and initiate the first step in election preparations.

“We need to move fast because we are already late (in our preparations) for the 2013 polls. We cannot move without the CAC,” Brillantes said.

Last June, President Aquino issued an order dissolving the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and reorganizing it into ICTO under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Malacañang named Louis Casambre as the executive director of ICTO. He will sit as chairman of the CAC with members coming one each from the DOST and the Department of Education, and another from academe, three from the IT industry, and two from poll reform groups.

The CAC shall have the function of recommending to the Comelec the “most appropriate, secure, applicable and cost-effective technology” to be used as the automated election system (AES).

“We want to start early and we already have a plan, the CAC should recommend the approval,” Brillantes said. – By: Mayen Jaymalin