A group of lawyers on Thursday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to go back to manual voting for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and manual counting of votes at the precinct level for the May 12 polls.
At a news conference at Amorata PH in Quezon City, lawyer Israelito Torreon of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan said: “There is no law for online voting, and yet Comelec issued three resolutions to allow it.”
“The act of Comelec is ultra vires or null and void,” he added.
He said Sections 24 and 27 of Republic Act 10590 have been violated because of online voting.
Along with Torreon, lawyers Raul Lambino and Jimmy Bondoc running as senators earlier filed a petition for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction against Comelec before the Supreme Court.
Torreon cited Section 31 of RA 9369 that amended the counting via electronic system.
“The intention of the law is manual counting at the precinct level, but the Comelec amended it to electronic counting,” he stressed.
He claimed receiving mounting complaints from disenfranchised OFW voters, saying there is still enough time for Comelec to go back to overseas manual voting and manual counting at the precinct level “since Comelec is used to doing these in the past elections.”