TRO on the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) “No Bio, No Boto” policy has been lifted as the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed Kabataan party-list’s petition.
“The petition is dismissed due to lack of merit. The temporary restraining order issued by this Court on Dec. 1, 2015 is consequently dissolved,” the high court said through Associate Justice Estela Perlas Bernabe.
Kabataan party-list argued that the new ruling violates the constitution as it will deprive the right to vote of millions of Filipinos in the 2016 elections.
According to the high court, “registration” is the only step towards voting but it is not one of the elements to determine if a voter is qualified or not.
“Thus, unless it is shown that a registration requirement rises to the level of a literacy, property or other substantive requirement as contemplated by the Framers of the Constitution—that is, one which propagates a socio-economic standard which is bereft of any rational basis to a person’s ability to intelligently cast his vote and to further the public good—the same cannot be struck down as unconstitutional, as in this case,” the high court said.
