SC junks bid to bar Brillantes, 2 election commissioners from resolving poll protests

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition to prevent Chairman Sixto Brillantes and two other commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from participating in the resolution of election protests emanating from the May 13 polls.

Petitioners accused Brillantes and commissioners Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph of having “contumacious blind loyalty to Smartmatic.”

They alleged that if the source code turns out to be not “one and the same” as the one used in the May 13, 2013 automated polls, it is considered as a grand-scale mass deception enough to impeach the three Comelec officials.

But the high court, in its Monday’s en banc (full court) session, said “the petition has been filed without any actual judicial controversy from which this Court may issue a prohibition prayed for by petitioners.”

The Court also ruled that the petitioners’ prayer to declare the alleged acts of Comelec as a grand-scale mass deception is tantamount to a culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust is “clearly premature.”

“It is not only based on conjectures but is highly speculative and does not warrant the relief prayed for,” the Court said.