698 Phil. 570
VILLARAMA, JR., J.:
- x x x most of the [EERs] x x x, were not remotely transmitted but locally or manually transmitted to the consolidating machine;
- x x x these locally or manually transmitted [EERs], that were stored in the individual Flash Memory per precinct x x x were merely inserted to the flash reader of the consolidating machine and canvass or consolidated without digital authentication[.] [Thus,] it cannot be ascertained whether the EERs in the flash memory were genuine and the same electronic documents produced by the PCOS on election day x x x;
- x x x the Audit Log of the consolidating machine failed to log/record fourteen (14) [EERs] or Flash Memories, as such [it] cannot be determined where these 14 EERs c[a]me from, x x x what [was] the mode of [their] transmission x x x to the consolidating machine; and how these EERs were canvassed or consolidated by the Consolidating Machine;
- x x x the election result generated from the x x x fourteen (14) EERs from the Precinct to MBOC were directly consolidated and the Statement of Votes per Precinct included the election result of the fourteen (14) EERs, despite the fact that the Audit Log of the consolidating machine failed to log/record [said] fourteen (14) EERs;
x x x x
- x x x the responsibility of the MBOC was merely to give the pin and thereafter [was] converted to technically a mere bystander or watcher and to proclaim the winners after the consolidating machine produced the printed results without verification or comparison to the printed ERs; and except for physical verification or analog authentication of flash memories; [and]
x x x x
- x x x after the election, the used and valid ballots in the clustered precincts in Barangay Mulao, Compostela were not placed inside the official ballot boxes and instead were placed in two separate cartons/boxes, and were alleged to have been at the Comelec Office in Compostela and the same were found/discovered more than days or weeks after the election; [a]nd the ballot boxes that were left at the Treasurer’s Office were empty[.]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Commission ORDERS to, as it does hereby, GRANT the “Extremely Urgent Motion to Suspend the Effect of Proclamation” filed by petitioner Ritch[i]e Wagas, hereby immediately suspending the effect of the proclamation of the candidates for mayor, vice-mayor and eight councilors of Compostela, Cebu. In the meantime, said petitioner is hereby give[n] three (3) days from receipt of this Order to amend the instant Petition in order to implead said indispensable parties.
SO ORDERED.[11]
WHEREFORE, premises considered the Commission RESOLVES to, as it hereby:
1. GRANTS the instant Petition to Annul Proclamation;
2. ANNULS the proclamation of the presumptive winning candidates in the Municipality of Compostela, Cebu, in connection with the 10 May 2010 Automated National and Local Elections, namely, the herein respondents, Joel Quiño as the mayor-elect, Mary Antonette Dangoy as the vice-mayor-elect and the eight (8) municipal-councilors-elect Josephine T. Abing, Joy Ann P. Cabatingan, Tessa P. Cang Wilfredo T. Calo, Homer C. Canen, Jose L. Cagang, Alberto Cabatingan and Francisco Oliverio.
3. ORDERS the MBOC to CONVENE, CANVASS and thereafter PROCLAIM the rightful winners after it has verified and corrected the EERs and other pertinent documents.
SO ORDERED.[14]
The Commission has the authority to annul the proclamation of a candidate if it discovers that the proclamation thereof proceeds from invalid and insufficient ground. A proclamation based on invalid canvass is no proclamation at all. Since the results of 14 clustered precincts were not transmitted and therefore were not included in the final canvass of votes, this Commission finds the proclamations of the presumptive winners as invalid. An irregularity also is reflected in the results for clustered precinct no. 19 where only ten votes were reflected in the Statement of Votes while seven hundred (700) votes were said to have cast their votes per election return. The factual circumstances of the case at bar are in all fours with Resolution No. 8989, contrary to the view of the respondents.
To settle the unrest resulting from this controversy and to truly determine the will of the electorate of Compostela Cebu, the Commission deems it necessary to canvass the votes in the clustered precincts subject of this controversy.[16]
Nothing in the records would prove that the results for the 14 clustered precincts were not transmitted and were not included in the final canvass of votes. In fact, a careful scrutiny of the attached copies of the SOV in support of the Certificate of Canvass (COC) would demonstrate that results for clustered precincts 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 21, 22, 26, 29 and 34 have been duly canvassed. The petitioner however disputes the genuineness and authenticity of the COC and the supporting SOV on the sole basis that the audit logs contain no record that the results for the said 14 precincts have indeed been transmitted. Question: Does such contention reasonably warrant the annulment of one’s proclamation?
x x x with the advent of the Automated Election System, the scope of pre-proclamation controversy has now been limited into only two (2) issues, to wit: a) illegal composition of the Board of Canvassers; and b) illegal proceedings, as when there is precipitate canvassing, terrorism, lack of sufficient notice to the members of the Board of Canvassers, and improper venue.
Obviously, the alleged irregularity on the audit logs does not fall within the ambit of the new definition of a pre-proclamation controversy. Further, it bears emphasizing that under Comelec Resolution No. 8809 in relation to Republic Act No. 9369, it was expressly provided that there shall be no pre-proclamation cases on issues/controversies relating to the generation, transmission, receipt and custody and appreciation of election returns or certificates of canvass. (Emphasis supplied.)
Assuming arguendo that the Commission, in the exercise of its plenary power, may validly rule on that issue raised by petitioner, such contention is still doomed to fail as no strong evidence has been adduced establishing that the COC and its supporting SOV do not reflect the true election results. Jurisprudence dictates that there is a presumption that an election was honestly conducted, and the burden of proof to show otherwise is on the party assailing the results. Thus, in the absence of strong evidence to the contrary, the COC and the corresponding SOV are deemed to have been regularly issued.
x x x x
While indeed the controversy involving Clustered Precinct No. 19 is similar with Comelec Resolution No. 8989 such that it pertains to an error in the transmission of election results which needs rectification, the undersigned however is of the opinion that annulment of proclamation is not at all times necessary. Similar with the doctrine involved in petitions for correction of manifest errors, there must first be a determination of whether the discrepancy would materially affect the results of the election. If, despite the reconciliation of votes, the previously proclaimed candidate still managed to obtain the plurality of votes, annulment of proclamation is certainly futile.
In the case at bar, a scrutiny of the records reveal that Clustered Precinct No. 19 has a total of Nine Hundred Seventy-Nine (979) registered voters; yet, the margin of votes between petitioner Wagas and respondent Quiño is Two Thousand Three Hundred Eighty[-]One (2,381) votes. Even if we give petitioner Wagas an additional 900 plus votes, there is no doubt that respondent Quiño would still [have] emerged as the winner. Thus, annulment of proclamation is not necessary.
Undersigned could not however say the same to the other respondents considering that the records are silent as to the winning margin of votes for the vice-mayoralty and municipal councilor race.[19]
At any rate, the petition has become moot and academic. The Twelfth Congress formally adjourned on June 11, 2004. And on May 17, 2004, the City Board of Canvassers proclaimed Bienvenido Abante the duly elected Congressman of the Sixth District of Manila pursuant to the May 10, 2004 elections.
In the recent case of Enrile vs. Senate Electoral Tribunal, we ruled that a case becomes moot and academic when there is no more actual controversy between the parties or no useful purpose can be served in passing upon the merits. Worth reiterating is our pronouncement in Gancho-on vs. Secretary of Labor and Employment, thus:“It is a rule of universal application, almost, that courts of justice constituted to pass upon substantial rights will not consider questions in which no actual interests are involved; they decline jurisdiction of moot cases. And where the issue has become moot and academic, there is no justiciable controversy, so that a declaration thereon would be of no practical use or value. There is no actual substantial relief to which petitioner would be entitled and which would be negated by the dismissal of the petition.”[23] (Emphasis supplied)