G.R. No. 165691 - Barbers vs. Commission on Elections

Robert Z. Barbers and Rodolfo G. Biazon were both candidates for re-election to the Senate of the Philippines in the May 10, 2004 synchronized National and Local Elections.
The controversy centers on the proclamation of the 12th winning senatorial candidate and the alleged use of an incomplete canvass by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).

On May 24, 2004, the COMELEC sitting en banc, acting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBC), promulgated Resolution No. NBC 04-002 which proclaimed the first 11 duly elected senators based on Certificates of Canvass (COCs) submitted by various canvassing bodies (provincial, city, district, and special boards for overseas and local absentee voting).
The remaining 12th slot was to be determined once additional COCs were submitted.
On June 2, 2004, the COMELEC promulgated Resolution No. NBC 04-005 proclaiming Biazon as the 12th winning candidate based on supplementary canvassing from selected provinces:

Biazon obtained 10,635,270 votes nationwide.
Barbers obtained 10,624,585 votes.
Biazon’s margin of victory was 10,685 votes, which was argued to be unaffected materially by some uncanvassed votes.

Barbers filed a petition on June 7, 2004 seeking certiorari and prohibition to annul Biazon’s proclamation, claiming it was based on an incomplete canvass.
In his petition, Barbers asserted that:

The proclamation was premature and illegal since not all COCs, particularly the municipal COCs (MCOCs), were canvassed.
The remaining uncanvassed COCs and forthcoming special election results could potentially affect the final outcome.

Relying on unofficial or unauthentic municipal COCs (submitted to the COMELEC’s ERSD) rather than on the official provincial COCs.
Committing a manifest error in vote tally, particularly from areas such as Lanao del Sur, where the vote credits differed significantly between Barbers and Biazon.

On June 6, 2004, the COMELEC Special Division issued a resolution denying Barbers’ petition, restating Biazon’s proclamation as the duly elected 12th Senator.
Barbers filed a motion for reconsideration, which was subsequently denied by the COMELEC en banc on October 25, 2004.
The administrative records and supplemental canvass details indicated that:

In areas with additional or uncounted votes, Barbers gained 6,736 votes, while Biazon gained 2,263 votes.
Even when assuming all uncanvassed votes (totaling 2,931) favored Barbers, Biazon would still lead by a sufficient margin.

Whether the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion and acted without or in excess of its jurisdiction by:

Relying on and giving effect to municipal COCs, which are not officially canvassed documents, instead of relying solely on the official provincial COCs?
Proclaiming Biazon as the winning candidate on an incomplete canvass, thereby making a premature declaration?

Whether the petition for certiorari and prohibition is the proper remedy when the appropriate remedy for challenging a senatorial proclamation should be a regular electoral protest before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), as mandated by the Constitution and the Omnibus Election Code.