Case Summary (G.R. No. 133486)
Procedural and Factual Background
ABS-CBN filed a Petition for Certiorari (Rule 65) assailing the Comelec resolution as a grave abuse of discretion. On May 9, 1998, the Supreme Court granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), which allowed the media to proceed with exit polls on election day without interference.
Issues Presented
Primary issue: Whether Comelec exceeded its jurisdiction or committed a grave abuse of discretion by approving a blanket restraining order on exit polling.
Additional contentions by the Solicitor General: The petition is moot (election concluded) and premature (petitioner failed to seek reconsideration before the Comelec).
Jurisdictional Doctrines: Mootness and Prematurity
Mootness: The Court held that although the challenged resolution concerned the 1998 election, the question of exit-poll regulation has continuing significance for future polls and constitutional freedoms.
Prematurity: Under extraordinary circumstances—transcendental constitutional issues and the urgent electoral timetable—the requirement to exhaust Comelec remedies (e.g., motion for reconsideration) was dispensed with to prevent miscarriage of justice.
Definition and Importance of Exit Polls
Exit Poll: A confidential, random survey of voters immediately after they cast ballots, intended to provide a probabilistic forecast of election outcomes.
Significance: Exit polls serve not only election-day projections but also long-term research into voting behavior, trends, and factors affecting electoral choices.
Freedoms of Speech and Press under the 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Guarantee (Art. III, Sec. 4): “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press.”
Purpose: To assure individual self-fulfillment, facilitate discovery of truth, encourage public participation in governance, and maintain dynamic discourse on matters of public interest.
Tests for Limiting Expression: Clear and Present Danger versus Dangerous Tendency
Clear and Present Danger Test: Restriction warranted only if expression poses a serious, imminent threat to a state interest the government has a right to prevent.
Dangerous Tendency Test (rejected): Allows punishment based on speculative or generalized threat without showing imminence or severity.
Application to Comelec’s Absolute Ban on Exit Polls
Comelec Justification: Prevent confusion, disorder at polling places; guard against undermining official and quick counts; protect ballot secrecy.
Court’s Analysis:
- Speculative threat—no evidence exit polls disrupt voting centers.
- Exit polls are opinion snapshots, not substitutes for official counts.
- Absolute ban fails the narrow-tailoring and least restrictive-means requirements; it prohibits beneficial research uses.
Alternative Measures to Address Incidental Disruptions
The Court recommended less burdensome regulations, such as:
• Designation of specific areas for exit-polling activities.
• Accreditation of professional survey groups.
• Reasonable distancing of pollsters from voting stations.
• Requirement that pollsters identify themselves distinctly and inform voters of voluntary participation.
• Advance public information campaigns on the nature and purpose of exit polls.
Ballot Secrecy Argument
Comelec Claim: Exit polls indirectly violate ballot secrecy by inducing voters to reveal their votes.
Court Response:
• Ballot secrecy relates to preventing identification of votes on official ballots, not to voluntary, confidential disclosures in surveys.
• No compulsory association of voter identity with ballot contents in exit polls.
Conclusion and Relief Granted
Holding: The absolute ban on exit polls is unconstitutional under the 1987 Constitution’s free-speech
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 133486)
Facts of the Case
- ABS-CBN filed a Petition for Certiorari under Rule 65 challenging Comelec en banc Resolution No. 98-1419 (April 21, 1998), which approved a restraining order barring the network (and others) from conducting exit surveys during the May 11, 1998 national elections.
- The Comelec acted on “information from a reliable source” that ABS-CBN, together with PR groups, planned radio-TV coverage of the elections coupled with immediate broadcast of exit-survey results for President and Vice President.
- The poll body feared conflict between exit-poll data and its official count, as well as Namfrel’s quick count, and noted it had neither authorized nor deputized ABS-CBN to undertake such surveys.
- On May 9, 1998, the Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order enjoining the Comelec from implementing its resolution; exit polls proceeded without incident and results were reported by the media.
Procedural Issues
- The Comelec (through the Solicitor General) argued the petition was moot and academic, since the election had concluded, and premature, noting petitioner did not seek reconsideration of the Comelec resolution.
- The Court held:
- Mootness: Not total. Although tied to the May 11 election, the resolution’s implications on freedom of expression apply to future elections and warrant judicial clarification.
- Prematurity/Reconsideration: Excused under circumstances of urgency (20 days before election) and transcendental constitutional issues, justifying direct resort by certiorari.
Main Issue
- Whether the Comelec acted with grave abuse of discretion, amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, when it issued a total ban on exit polls and the broadcast of their results in the guise of ensuring clean, honest, orderly, and credible elections.
Nature and Scope of Speech and Press Freedoms
- Freedom of expression is a “preferred” right essential to democratic government, protecting the public discussion of matters of public interest without prior restraint.
- The Constitution prohibits laws abridging speech or press freedom (Art. III, Sec. 4).
- Free speech serves individual self-fulfillment, t