G.R. No. 223822 - Republic vs. Tanduay Lumber, Inc.

Dioscoro O. Angelia (petitioner) and Florentino R. Tan (private respondent) ran for a seat as a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Abuyog, Leyte in the May 11, 1998 elections.
Following the canvass of votes on May 13, 1998, the Municipal Board of Canvassers proclaimed the winning candidates, with petitioner's name among them, although he ranked eighth with 7,765 votes compared to private respondent who garnered 7,761 votes and ranked ninth.

Private respondent alleged manifest errors in the election returns from two precincts:

In Precinct Nos. 84-A/84-A-1, he was credited with only 82 votes when he claimed to have actually received 92 votes.
In Precinct No. 23-A, petitioner was credited with 18 votes when he asserted he received only 13 votes.

Affidavits of Alma Duavis, the poll clerk of Precinct Nos. 84-A/84-A-1, acknowledging an error in tallying his votes.
Affidavits of Chona Fernando, the poll clerk of Precinct No. 23-A, admitting oversight in recording petitioner’s votes.
A corroborative affidavit from Susan Matugas, chairperson of the Board of Election Inspectors of Precinct Nos. 84-A/84-A-1.

On May 25, 1998, private respondent initially filed a petition for quo warranto with the Regional Trial Court alleging the errors in the returns.
After filing the quo warranto petition, private respondent later withdrew it and instead filed a petition for annulment of petitioner’s proclamation with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
Attached to the petition were copies of disputed election returns (No. 3700088 and No. 3700023) reflecting the discrepancies pointed out by private respondent.

Annulled the proclamation of petitioner as member of the Sangguniang Bayan.
Directed the Municipal Board of Canvassers to reconvene within five (5) days to correct the errors in the affected precinct reports.
Provided for the subsequent proclamation of the winning candidate(s) based on the corrected results.

The Municipal Board of Canvassers complied by reconvening on September 1, 1998 and subsequently proclaiming private respondent as the winning candidate.

Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration alleging he was not provided due notice and hearing before the annulment of his proclamation.
Subsequently, without waiting for the outcome of the motion for reconsideration, petitioner filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Civil Procedure challenging the COMELEC resolution.
The sole assignment of error highlighted a violation of his constitutional right to due process by annulling the proclamation without prior notice and hearing.

The case involved the application of COMELEC Resolution No. 2962 which mandates that in instances of discrepancies between the tallied votes ("taras/tally") and the votes recorded in words/figures, the tally shall prevail.
The procedure provided for under Section 5 Rule 27 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure allowed for the correction of manifest errors even after the proclamation.
The case referenced established jurisprudence such as Castromayor v. COMELEC and Tatlonghari v. Commission on Elections to justify the administrative correction without reopening the ballot box or re-examining ballots.

Whether petitioner’s filing of a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 was proper, given that he also filed a motion for reconsideration, and whether the COMELEC resolution was subject to reconsideration.

Whether the COMELEC violated petitioner’s constitutional right to due process by annulling his proclamation without providing prior notice and an opportunity to be heard.

Whether the administrative rectification procedure—i.e., reconvening the Municipal Board of Canvassers for correction of manifest errors as provided in the COMELEC Rules—adequately addressed the discrepancies in the election returns and preserved the true will of the electorate.

Whether private respondent’s shift from a petition for quo warranto to a petition for annulment of proclamation constituted improper forum-shopping.