SolGen asks SC to junk transparency petition vs Comelec on Miru deal
MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) asked the Supreme Court (SC) to dismiss a petition seeking to compel the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disclose documents related to its P18-billion contract with Miru Systems, the 2025 elections’ automated election system (AES) provider.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said in a 50-page comment that the petition filed by elections watchdog Right 2 Know, Right Now (R2KRN), the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the Philippine Press Institute, journalists, and academics, should be dismissed over lack of merit.
The petition, filed in February, sought to compel the Comelec and Miru Systems to divulge more information about the multi-billion joint venture. It was a petition for certiorari and mandamus to declare the Comelec’s alleged failure to act on the petitioners’ request for information as a grave abuse of discretion, and to compel Miru to disclose the information.
The petitioners also wanted details on how the withdrawal of Miru’s local partner, St. Timothy Construction Corporation (STCC), affected the deal, particularly the possible impact on the 60% Filipino ownership requirement. Miru is South Korean-owned.
But Guevarra denied the petitioners’ claim that the respondents, Comelec and Miru, violated their constitutional right to information.
The solicitor general noted that while the Comelec might not have provided the watchdog a risk assessment and contingency report, nor a detailed allocation of each remaining partner’s financial, technical, and operational contributions, the poll body still allowed their access to information such as the adjusted percentage of contribution and distribution.
They were also given information about the adjusted responsibilities of each remaining partner in the joint venture.
Guevarra also believes that the Comelec did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it deemed the documents furnished to R2KRN in November 2024 as sufficient compliance with its freedom of information (FOI) request.
The watchdog has maintained that the documents the Comelec earlier provided were incomplete, since the poll body allegedly did not supply information about the legal compliance of the 60-40 ownership rule that would have been enough for independent verification.
But based on its reading of the joint venture agreement, the OSG believes that Miru is still limited to its 40%-share in asset contributions and profit distribution.
“Hence, petitioner R2KRN’s contention that it was deprived of the ability to independently verify whether private respondent Miru-JV (joint venture) continues to meet the nationality, financial, technical, and legal requirements under the law, is bereft of any factual or legal basis,” Guevarra wrote.
Guevarra also pointed to how information on performance security is posted on the Comelec’s website.
‘Reasonable’ description needed
The OSG said that under the Comelec’s FOI manual, the petitioners’ request for other records or documents should “reasonably” describe the information sought.
“Based on the foregoing provisions, petitioner R2KRN does not have unbridled right to request for access to information without specifying which information it seeks to be furnished with, or, in this case, which official act or decision it seeks to have access to,” Guevarra said.
“Hence, public respondent Comelec could not have granted this portion of petitioner R2KRN’s request as the same is not compliant with Sections 20 and 21 of public respondent Comelec’s FOI Manual,” he added.
In March 2024, the Comelec entered into a P17.9-billion contract with a joint venture composed of Miru, STCC, and Centerpoint Solutions Technologies.
STCC backed out of the deal in October 2024. The Comelec accepted the withdrawal, pointing to a conflict of interest involving the alleged owners of STCC. – Rappler.com