The Supreme Court (SC) has held in contempt the members of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) who did not implement the court’s Jan. 20, 2022 restraining order that directed the inclusion of Wilson Caritero Amad in the printing of the ballots as candidate for vice president in the last May 9 election.
In its July 5 decision that was made public last Nov. 22, the SC ruled that the members of the Comelec (on Jan. 20, 2022) “are found GUILTY of CONTEMPT of the Supreme Court for their disobedience to the Court's lawful directive, specifically the Temporary Restraining Order dated Jan. 20, 2022. Accordingly, they are REPRIMANDED for this disobedience.”
The SC noted that the composition of the Comelec has changed since the issuance of the TRO and its consequent violation. “As such, the Court clarifies that the resolution of this case only affects the Comelec and its membership who were the ones directly responsible for the TRO's violation,” it stressed.
The ruling was issued on the petition of Amad against the Dec. 13, 2021 and Jan. 3, 2022 resolutions of the Comelec which declared him a “nuisance candidate,” cancelled his certificate of candidacy (COC), and disqualified him in the election for vice president.
Based on the SC decision, written for the full court by Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan, the members of the Comelec en banc (full commission) who issued the Jan. 3, 2022 ruling were Chairman Sheriff M. Abas, who wrote the resolution, and Commissioners Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon, Socorro B. lnting, Marlon S. Casquejo, Antonio T. Kho Jr., and Aimee P. Ferolina, concurring.
A check with the Comelec’s website showed that only Socorro B. Inting, Casquejo and Ferolina are still incumbent Comelec commissioners. Guanzon and Abas had retired while Kho had been appointed associate justice of the SC.
Amad filed his certificate of candidacy for vice president on Oct. 7, 2021. On Oct. 11, 2021, the Comelec – on a motu proprio (on its own initiative) petition – sought the declaration of Amad as a “nuisance candidate.”
The Comelec said that Amad “does not appear to have a genuine intention to run for public office; does not have a nationwide network of supporters; is not personally capable of persuading a substantial number of voters from different parts of the country; and is not virtually known to the entire country except possibly in the locality where he resides.”
On Dec. 13, 2021, the Comelec’s first division declared Amad a “nuisance candidate” as it declared: “As a media broadcaster, catechist and advocate, Respondent, may have a solid support in the areas within the coverage of these endeavors: Northern Mindanao. But the same does not hold true when viewed in the National context.”
Amad appealed the ruling before the Comelec en banc, which, on Jan. 3, 2022, denied his appeal. On Jan. 4,2022, he filed a petition before the SC challenging the Comelec’s resolution.
Amad’s petition was denied by the SC “insofar as it has become moot and academic.”
In resolving the petition, the SC said that based on Section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, “the only grounds for which a candidate may be declared as a nuisance candidate are as follows: (1) that such candidate only filed his or her COC to put the election process in mockery or to cause disrepute; (2) that such candidate only filed his or her COC to cause confusion among the voters; and (3) that there exists circumstances that clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for office to prevent a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate.”
“Here, the records are bereft of any evidence to clearly establish that Amad's filing of his COC was intended to put the election process in mockery or to cause confusion among the voters. Moreover, the Comelec's allegation that Amad is only known within Northern Mindanao also does not establish that he has no bona fide intention to run for Vice President,” the SC said.
It pointed out that the Comelec “committed grave abuse of discretion when, without any factual or legal basis, it denied Amad's motion for reconsideration, and declared him a nuisance candidate.”
On violation of the TRO and indirect contempt of court, the SC said:
“As previously mentioned, on Jan. 20, 2022, the Court issued a TRO directing the Comelec to include Amad's name in the official ballots. However, it is undisputed that the Comelec did not comply with such directive, considering that, as explained by the Comelec, several pre-election activities had already commenced even before the issuance of the TRO.
“Particularly, the Comelec stated in its comment that on Jan. 9, 2022, the generation of the final ballot face templates had already begun, while the loading of the finalized list of candidates in the Comelec's Election Management System and the subsequent generation of the Serialized Machine-Readable Official Ballots were done on Jan. 15, 2022.
“The Comelec further manifested that on January 19, 2022, the Comelec had already commenced the configuration of the Secure Digital cards for use in the Vote-Counting Machines and that starting Jan. 23, 2022, the Comelec already began printing the serialized ballots.
“While the Court commiserates with the efforts of the Comelec to avoid logistical nightmares and time constraints in the preparation of the 2022 NLE, it bears noting that as early as Jan. 4, 2022, or a day after the Comelec (En Banc) Order denying his motion for reconsideration was promulgated, Amad availed of his statutory remedies before the Court to challenge the Comelec's dispositions.
“In other words, the Comelec knew from the onset, and even prior to the commencement of its pre-election activities, that: (1) Amad was challenging his being declared as a nuisance candidate; (2) the Court may resolve his case in his favor; and (3) a TRO may be issued enjoining the COMELEC from enforcing its Resolution dated Dec. 13, 2021 and Order dated Jan. 3, 2022.
“Notably, without considering Amad's statutory right to challenge the Comelec's dispositions, the Comelec proceeded with its pre-election activities, and even commenced the printing of the serialized ballots without Amad's name on Jan. 23, 2022, after the Court's issuance of the TRO.
“Thus, it is simply undeniable that the Comelec violated the Court's TRO. In this regard, it is worthy to recall that Amad also sought that the Comelec be cited in contempt for its violation of the Court's TRO.
“...the Court also finds it proper to cite the members of the Comelec in contempt for violation of the TRO, and to impose the penalty of severe reprimand.
“Therefore, in order to prevent similar issues in the future, and to avoid violations of the Court's lawful orders, the Comelec must find an intricate balance between: (1) safeguarding the democratic process which necessitates respecting parties' rights to avail of their statutory remedies; and (2) ensuring a clean and fair elections which entails the timely conduct of pre-election activities.
“WHEREFORE, the Petition for Certiorari filed by Wilson Caritero Amad is DENIED insofar as it has become MOOT and ACADEMIC.
“Nevertheless, the members of the Commission on Elections are found GUILTY of CONTEMPT of the Supreme Court for their disobedience to the Court's lawful directive, specifically the Temporary Restraining Order dated January 20, 2022. Accordingly, they are REPRIMANDED for this disobedience. SO ORDERED.”
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