It’s final. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) must issue receipts to voters after they cast their votes in the May 9, 2016, national elections. Voting, 12-0, the Supreme Court (SC) threw out yesterday the appeal of the Comelec to overturn its earlier decision to enable the vote verification feature of the vote-counting machines (VCMs), despite the poll body’s warning of a possible postponement of the May 9 elections. The SC ruling was issued around 30 minutes after the High Court conducted an oral argument where the Comelec presented their timeline for the May 9 polls. During the oral argument, justices allowed Comelec Commissioner Christian Robert Lim and Smartmatic’s Marlon Garcia to demonstrate the use of two VCMs. ARGUING ON RECEIPTS — The Supreme Court en banc session begins yesterday for the oral arguments on the petition of former Senator Richard Gordon, directing the Commission on Elections to implement the printing [...]
