Organization of the debates should be directed by

organization of the debates," should be directed by
this Court to implement Part VI (C), paragraph 19
of the MOA, which allows the debates to be shown
or live streamed unaltered on petitioner's and other
websites subject to the copyright condition that the
source is clearly indicated. ( Rappler, Inc. v. Bautista ,
G.R. No. 222702, April 5, 2016)
This petition for certiorari and/or prohibition with
prayer for the issuance of a writ of preliminary
injunction and/or a temporary restraining order, assails
the constitutionality of Sections 8, 9, 10 and 11 of
Republic Act (R.A.) No. 8436, as amended by Section 9
of R.A. No. 9369, providing for the creation of an
Advisory Council (AC) and a Technical Evaluation
Committee (TEC), on the ground that it encroaches on
the Commission on Elections' (COMELEC) mandate to
administer and enforce all laws relating to the elections
as provided for in Section 2( 1), Article IX-C of the
1987 Constitution.
The functions of the AC are recommendatory, as
can be gleaned from the assailed provision itself in
Section 9 of R.A. No. 8436 which provides that the
functions of the AC are merely to recommend, to
provide advice and/or assistance, and to
participate as nonvoting members with respect to
the COMELEC's fulfillment of its mandate and
authority to use the AES, and which in all
instances, is subject to the approval and final
decision of the COMELEC. On the other hand, the
TEC's exclusive function is to certify, through an
established international certification entity to be
chosen by the COMELEC from the
recommendations of the AC that the AES,
including its hardware and software components,
is operating properly, securely, and accurately, in
accordance with the provisions of law. xxx.
Nothing in the role of the Council or any outside
intervention or influence shall be construed as an
abdication or diminution of the Commission's
authority and responsibility for the effective
development, management and implementation of
the AES and this Act. ( Chong v. Senate , G.R. No.
217725, May 31, 2016)
In sum, the Congress created the [AC] and the TEC
not to encroach upon the exclusive power of the
COMELEC to enforce and administer laws relating
to the conduct of the elections, but to (1) ensure
that the COMELEC is guided and assisted by
experts in the field of technology in adopting the
most effective and efficient [AES]; and (2) to ensure
clean elections by having disinterested parties
closely monitor the COMELEC in procuring
systems that operate properly, securely, and
accurately. As such, it is apparent that, through the
[AC] and the TEC, the Congress merely checks and
balances the power of the COMELEC to enforce
and administer R.A. No. 8436, as amended by R.A.
No. 9369. It does not, however, substitute its own
wisdom for that of the COMELEC. ( Chong v. Senate ,
G.R. No. 217725, May 31, 2016)
Failure of Election
Thus, the COMELEC exercises its quasi-judicial
function when it decides election contests not
otherwise reserved to other electoral tribunals by
the Constitution. The COMELEC, however, does
not exercise its quasi-judicial functions when it
declares a failure of elections pursuant to R.A. No.