The Supreme Court underscored that a writ of mandamus may not compel the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to exercise its discretion in a certain way, such as granting or denying a request to open and recount ballot boxes.

Mandamus is an extraordinary writ that compels a person, tribunal, corporation, board, or officer to carry out a legally required action if it has failed or refused to do so. This action must be ministerial, meaning that its performance does not involve the exercise of discretion or judgment.

In dismissing the petition, the Supreme Court held that the issue did not involve a ministerial act by the COMELEC, as the requested recount of physical ballots requires the exercise of the COMELEC’s discretion and judgment. It also ruled that petitioners failed to establish any clear, complete, and specific legal right to a recount.

The Court found that the petitioners failed to identify any law requiring the recount of the physical ballots in the 2022 National and Local elections. Moreover, the COMELEC Resolution expressly states that the COMELEC “may, upon Petitioner’s instance, order the conduct of the recount of the ballots.”

Nevertheless, the Court found that the COMELEC was guilty of official inaction when it acted on the motions beyond the period prescribed by its own rules.

The Decision is from the Supreme Court En Banc, written by Associate Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez.