1-Abilidad Party-List v. Commission on Elections

EN BANC

[G.R. No. 207213. October 1, 2013.]

1-ABILIDAD PARTY-LIST, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, respondent.

NOTICE

Sirs/Mesdames :

Please take notice that the Court en banc issued a Resolution dated October 1, 2013, which reads as follows:

"G.R. No. 207213 (1-Abilidad Party-List v. Commission on Elections). — This is a petition for certiorari and mandamus 1 under Rules 64 and 65 of the Rules of Court filed by 1-Abilidad Party-List (petitioner), seeking to set aside Resolution No. 0008-13 2 issued by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), sitting en banc as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), on May 28, 2013.

On May 13, 2013, the COMELEC conducted the national and local elections; the petitioner was one of the party-list groups vying for a seat in the House of Representatives under the party-list system of representation. After the elections, the COMELEC proceeded with the canvass of the votes.

On May 24, 2013, the COMELEC, in its NBOC Resolution No. 0006-13, 3 partially proclaimed fourteen (14) party-list groups 4 who had obtained at least two percent (2%) of the votes cast for the party-list as initial winners in the May 13, 2013 party-list elections and were thus entitled to one (1) guaranteed seat in the House of Representatives. cCTaSH

On May 28, 2013, the COMELEC, in its NBOC Resolution No. 0008-13, 5 proclaimed thirty-eight (38) party-list groups, including the fourteen (14) party-list groups that were earlier proclaimed, as initial winners of the May 13, 2013 party-list elections. Out of the fifty-eight (58) reserved seats in the House of Representatives for the party-list groups, the COMELEC allocated fifty-three (53) seats to the winning party-list groups, as follows:

PARTY-LIST	GRAND	PERCENTAGE	Guaranteed	Additional	Total
GROUP	TOTAL	(%)	Seat	Seat (2nd	Seats
	28-May	OF VOTES		round)
	1:52 AM	GARNERED
BUHAY	1,265,992	4.74	1	2	3
A TEACHER	1,040,898	3.90	1	1	2
BAYAN	952,767	3.57	1	1	2
MUNA
1-CARE	933,831	3.49	1	1	2
AKBAYAN	827,405	3.10	1	1	2
ABONO	767,645	2.87	1	1	2
AKB	763,103	2.86	1	1	2
OFW FAMILY	750,753	2.81	1	1	2
GABRIELA	713,492	2.67	1	1	2
COOP-	641,355	2.40	1	1	2
NATCCO
AGAP	592,069	2.22	1	1	2
CIBAC	583,768	2.18	1	1	2
MAGDALO	565,883	2.12	1	1	2
AN WARAY	540,906	2.02	1	1	2
ABAMIN	465,989	1.74		1	1
ACT	453,491	1.70		1	1
TEACHERS
BUTIL	438,601	1.64		1	1
AMIN	376,932	1.41		1	1
ACT-CIS	376,175	1.41		1	1
KALINGA	371,610	1.39		1	1
LPGMA	370,360	1.39		1	1
TUCP	368,883	1.38		1	1
YACAP	366,340	1.37		1	1
AGRI	365,516	1.37		1	1
ANGKLA	360,138	1.35		1	1
ABS	358,693	1.34		1	1
DIWA	341,443	1.28		1	1
KABATAAN	340,573	1.27		1	1
ANAK PAWIS	321,110	1.20		1	1
ALAY BUHAY	316,947	1.19		1	1
AAMBIS-OWA	311,725	1.17		1	1
1-SAGIP	287,060	1.07		1	1
AVE	270,159	1.01		1	1
ATING KOOP	267,452	1.00		1	1
1-BAP	245,237	0.92		1	1
ABAKADA	243,994	0.91		1	1
AMA	243,551	0.91		1	1
ANG NARS	242,835	0.91		1	1

On June 6, 2013, the petitioner filed with this Court the instant petition for certiorari and mandamus, alleging that the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion in promulgating NBOC Resolution No. 0008-13. The petitioner claims that the COMELEC's proclamation of the thirty-eight (38) party-list groups, and the consequent allocation of fifty-three (53) seats for them were premature since they were based only on a partial canvass of the votes cast for party-list consisting of 26,722,131 votes instead of the total 39,994,751 total votes cast for party-list.

The petitioner further alleges that on May 16, 2013, during the canvass and consolidation of the votes cast for the party-list, the COMELEC directed the shutdown of the transparency server, 6 thus halting the release to the public of the electronically transmitted election precinct results. It avers that the COMELEC's order to shutdown the transparency server deprived the public of its right to know and be informed of the true results of the election. Accordingly, the petitioner prayed that NBOC Resolution No. 0008-13 be set aside and the proclamation of the thirty-eight (38) party-list groups and the allocation of fifty-three (53) seats for them be nullified. ECaSIT

In its Comment, 7 the COMELEC avers that the instant petition should be dismissed for being moot and academic, pointing out that it has already completed the canvass of the votes cast for the party-list elections of May 13, 2013 and has already proclaimed all the winning party-list groups based on all the votes cast for the party-list.

The COMELEC further alleges that, based on the final canvass, the petitioner only got 19,381 votes or about point zero seven percent (0.07%) of the total votes cast for the party-list, which is way below the required two percent (2%) of the total votes cast for the party-list to be entitled to one (1) guaranteed seat.

The COMELEC likewise denies that it directed the shutdown of the transparency server during the canvass and consolidation of the votes cast for the party-list. It avers that the petitioner might have thought that the transparency server had been shutdown because certain election watchdogs temporarily suspended the reporting of the election results during the canvassing because of some technical problems.

In sum, the issue presented for the Court's resolution is whether the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion when it issued NBOC Resolution No. 0008-13.

The petition is dismissed.

For a court to exercise its power of adjudication, there must be an actual case or controversy — one which involves a conflict of legal rights, an assertion of opposite legal claims susceptible of judicial resolution; the case must not be moot or academic or based on extra-legal or other similar considerations not cognizable by a court of justice. 8 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. 9

Essentially, the petitioner asks this Court to nullify the proclamation of the thirty-eight (38) party-list groups as the winners of the May 13, 2013 party-list elections and set aside the fifty-three (53) seats allocated to them, since their proclamation was only based on the partial canvass of the votes cast for the party-list; that the said proclamation was premature, since there was still a considerable number of votes cast for the party-list that had yet to be canvassed.

However, the Court notes that the COMELEC has already completed the canvass of all the votes cast for the party-list.

The COMELEC has likewise already determined that the results of the canvass of votes for party-list after the issuance of NBOC Resolution No. 0008-13 will not affect the standing of the thirty-eight (38) party-list groups that were earlier proclaimed by the COMELEC. 10 Accordingly, the foregoing circumstances have rendered the instant petition moot. There is no longer any actual controversy, considering that the results of the canvass of all the votes cast for party-list do not affect the earlier proclamation of the said party-list groups.

Anent the petitioner's claim that the COMELEC directed the shutdown of the transparency server, the Court finds the same bereft of any merit. Verily, other than its bare and self-serving allegation, the petitioner has failed to adduce any evidence that would support its claim. The petitioner's claim that the COMELEC deliberately shut down the transparency server to manipulate the results of the May 13, 2013 party-list elections is a hollow and biased conclusion unsubstantiated by any clear and convincing evidence.

It bears stressing that the COMELEC, sitting en banc as the NBOC, enjoys the presumption of regularity in the performance of official functions; it is disputably presumed that the COMELEC as the NBOC has regularly performed its duty to canvass the votes cast for the party-list. 11 In the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, as in this case, the presumption of regularity in the performance of official duty in favor of the COMELEC should be upheld.

WHEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing disquisitions, the petition is DISMISSED." Bersamin, J., on official leave. Villarama, Jr., J., on leave. Mendoza, J., on official leave. EHDCAI

Very truly yours,

(SGD.) ENRIQUETA E. VIDALClerk of Court

Footnotes

1.Rollo, pp. 3-10.

2.Id. at 20-22.

3.Id. at 43-44.

4.The party-list groups that were proclaimed are the following: (1) BUHAY; (2) A TEACHER; (3) Bayan Muna; (4) 1-CARE; (5) AKBAYAN; (6) AKO BICOL; (7) ABONO; (8) OFW; (9) GABRIELA; (10) COOP-NATCCO; (11) AGAP; (12) CIBAC; (13) MAGDALO; and (14) AN WARAY; id. at 43.

5.Id. at 20-22.

6.The transparency server receives the electronically transmitted election precinct results and disseminates the same to the board of canvassers, the dominant majority and minority parties, the accredited citizens' arm and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas.

7.Rollo, pp. 32-41.

8.Joya v. Presidential Commission on Good Government, G.R. No. 96541, August 24, 1993, 225 SCRA 568, 579.

9.Enrile v. Senate Electoral Tribunal, G.R. No. 132986, May 19, 2004, 428 SCRA 472, 477.

10.NBOC Resolution No. 0020-13 dated July 19, 2013; rollo, pp. 55-57.

11.RULES OF COURT, Rule 131, Section 3 (m).