Facts:

• The case is H. Harry L. Roque, Jr., et al. vs. Commission on Elections (COMELEC), et al., G.R. No. 188456, decided on September 10, 2009.
• Petitioners include H. Harry L. Roque, Jr., Joel R. Butuyan, Romel R. Bagares, and others.
• They filed a petition for certiorari, prohibition, and mandamus against COMELEC and other parties.
• The petitioners sought to nullify the award of the 2010 Elections Automation Project to the TIM-Smartmatic joint venture.
• They claimed COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion by not conducting pilot testing of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.
• Petitioners argued that the machines did not meet the minimum system capabilities required by law.
• The contract was awarded on June 9, 2009, for the delivery of 82,200 PCOS machines.
• Concerns were raised about potential election irregularities and the integrity of the electoral process.

Issue:

• (Unlock)

Ruling:

• The Supreme Court denied the petition and upheld the contract awarded to the TIM-Smartmatic joint venture.
• The Court found that:
  • COMELEC did not commit grave abuse of discretion by not conducting pilot testing.
  • The PCOS machines satisfied the minimum system capabilities required by law.
  • A valid JV...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The Court reasoned that pilot testing was not explicitly required by law for nationwide implementation of the automated election system.
• COMELEC had the discretion to implement the automation project, supported by the successful use of similar technology in the 2008 ARMM elections.
• The Court emphasized COMELEC's authority as an independent body to determine appropriate election technology, with decisions respected unless clear evidence of grave abuse of discretion is shown.
• T...continue reading