Gordon asks SC: Compel Comelec to comply with automation law’s voter verified paper audit trail requirement

MANILA—Former Senator Richard J. Gordon asked the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday to compel the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to activate the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) feature of the automated election system to be used in the May 9, 2016 elections.

Gordon, who was the principal author of Republic Act No. 9369, or the Automated Elections System Law, and the Bagumbayan-VNP Movement Inc. filed a 24-page petition for mandamus before the SC.

They filed the petition after the Comelec announced that the seven members of the Comelec En Banc unanimously decided against using the VVPAT because it could be used as a tool for vote-buying and would also extend the voting period by seven hours.

In their petition, Gordon argued that the Congress has the constitutional duty to protect the sanctity of the ballot which is why he ensured that the safeguards aimed to do this were injected in R.A. 9369.

The VVPAT system allows voters to verify if their ballots were cast correctly through the issuance of a receipt, showing the names of candidates that they voted for.

It serves as a deterrent against election fraud and provides a means to audit stored electronic results.

Gordon, who is running again for senator, expressed apprehension that with the May 9 elections only less than 100 days, the Comelec is set anew to commit the same violation and will do away with an indispensable security feature that will ensure transparency, honesty and the sanctity of the ballot.

“Under Section 6(e) of Republic Act No. 9369, which amends Section 7(c) of Republic Act No. 8436 (The Automated Election System Law), one of the minimum system capabilities of the automated election system is that there must be a provision for Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT),” Gordon argued.

“The VVPAT is therefore a CRITICAL AND INDISPENSABLE security feature of the automated voting machine. Regrettably, however, the inclusion of this mandatory requirement under the automated election laws was previously and flagrantly violated by Respondent during the 2010 and 2013 Elections,” he added.

Gordon further argued that Sections 6(e), (f) and (n) of R.A. 8436 as amended by Section 7 of R.A. 9369 is clear and unequivocal in mandating the use of the VVPAT, that it is not up to the Comelec whether or not to implement it.

He added that it is a time-honored principle under statutory construction that a statute must be interpreted in its plain and concise meaning.