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Maliksi v. Commission On Elections, G.R. No. 203302, March 12, 2013

In the case of Maliksi v. Commission on Elections, the Regional Trial Court initially declared Emmanuel Maliksi as the duly elected Mayor of Imus, Cavite, but the COMELEC later reversed this decision, citing compromised ballot integrity and declaring Saquilayan as the winner. The Supreme Court ruled that ballot images in Compact Flash cards are not mere secondary evidence but are equivalent to the original physical ballots, thus can be used in election protests. The ruling emphasized that both the physical ballots and digital ballot images hold the same evidentiary weight.

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15 views2 pages

Maliksi v. Commission On Elections, G.R. No. 203302, March 12, 2013

In the case of Maliksi v. Commission on Elections, the Regional Trial Court initially declared Emmanuel Maliksi as the duly elected Mayor of Imus, Cavite, but the COMELEC later reversed this decision, citing compromised ballot integrity and declaring Saquilayan as the winner. The Supreme Court ruled that ballot images in Compact Flash cards are not mere secondary evidence but are equivalent to the original physical ballots, thus can be used in election protests. The ruling emphasized that both the physical ballots and digital ballot images hold the same evidentiary weight.

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rudilyn.palero9
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PALERO, RUDILYN CASE DIGEST #28

Maliksi v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 203302, March 12, 2013


FACTS
Emmanuel Maliksi mayoralty candidate for the Municipality of Imus, Cavite during the
10 May 2010 Automated National and Local Elections filed an election protest before
the Regional Trial Court of Imus, Cavite, questioning the results of the elections in 209
clustered precincts. In its decision, the trial court declared Maliksi as the duly elected
Municipal Mayor of Imus, Cavite. The trial court ruled that Maliksi garnered 41,088 votes
as against Saquilayan’s 40,423 votes. Thus, based on the trial court’s recount, Maliksi
won over Saquilayan by a margin of 665 votes. Saquilayan filed an appeal before the
COMELEC.The COMELEC First Division, after inspecting the ballot boxes, ruled that it
was apparent that the integrity of the ballots had been compromised. Thus, it nullified
the trial court’s decision and declared Saquilayan as the duly-elected Municipal Mayor
of Imus, Cavite. Hence, this appeal. Maliksi assailed the use by the COMELEC First
Division of the ballot images in the CF cards. He alleged that the best and most
conclusive evidence are the physical ballots themselves, and when they cannot be
produced or when they are not available, the election returns would be the best
evidence of the votes cast.

ISSUE/S RULING
RTC Whether there are RTC held a revision of the
irregularities in counting votes, and, based on the
the votes results of the revision,
declared Maliksi as the
duly elected Mayor of Imus
commanding Saquilayan to
cease and desist from
performing the functions of
said office.
CA (COMELEC) Whether the RTC is correct The Comelec First Division
reversed the ruling of the
RTC. It issued an order
dated March 28, 2012
requiring Saquilayan to
deposit the amount
necessary to defray the
expenses for the
decryption and printing of
the ballot images. Maliksi
filed a motion for
reconsideration, alleging
that he had been denied
PALERO, RUDILYN CASE DIGEST #28

his right to due process


because he had not been
notified of the decryption
proceedings. He argued
that the resort to the
printouts of the ballot
images, which were
secondary evidence, had
been unwarranted because
there was no proof that the
integrity of the paper
ballots had not been
preserved which the
Comelec En Banc denied.

ISSUE
Whether the ballot images in the Compact Flash cards are mere secondary evidence
that should only be used when the physical ballots are not available.
RULING
No, the Court ruled that the ballot images in the CF cards, as well as the printouts of
such images, are the functional equivalent of the official physical ballots filled up by the
voters, and may be used in an election protest. The ballot images, which are digital, are
electronically generated and written in the CF cards when the ballots are fed into the
PCOS machine. The ballot images are the counterparts produced by electronic
recording which accurately reproduce the original, and thus are the equivalent of the
original. As pointed out by the COMELEC, the digital images of the physical ballots are
electronically and instantaneously generated by the PCOS machines once the physical
ballots are fed into and read by the machines.” Hence, the ballot images are not
secondary evidence. The official physical ballots and the ballot images in the CF cards
are both original documents. The ballot images in the CF cards have the same
evidentiary weight as the official physical ballots.

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