Case Digest (G.R. No. L-14143)
Facts:
Mariano B. Delgado v. Angel B. Tiu, et al., G.R. No. L-14143. May 27, 1959, Supreme Court En Banc, Bautista Angelo, J., writing for the Court.In the November 8, 1955 general elections for Mayor of Barugo, Leyte, the municipal board of canvassers certified Mariano B. Delgado with 1,429 votes, Angel B. Tiu with 1,428 votes, and Alfredo Laure with 1,400 votes, and proclaimed Delgado mayor-elect. Dissatisfied, Angel B. Tiu filed an election protest in the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Leyte, alleging fraud and irregularities in specified precincts.
Delgado filed an answer and a counter-protest raising defects in other precincts; Laure also filed an answer and counter-protest. During litigation Delgado withdrew portions of his counter-protest, leaving the case to be tried on the precincts identified in the record (named in the source). After trial, on April 25, 1956 the CFI proclaimed Angel B. Tiu duly elected, finding him ahead of Delgado by three votes.
Delgado appealed to the Court of Appeals (CoA). On September 24, 1957 the CoA held the election a tie between Delgado and Tiu and remanded the case to the lower court so the tie could be decided by lot. Delgado then filed the present petition for review before the Supreme Court, assigning numerous errors involving specific contested ballots; Tiu filed counter-assignments of error. Both parties disputed the admissibility or rejection of identified ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Were the contested ballots properly admitted or rejected under the ballot-valuation rules of the Revised Election Code ( Sections 135 and 149 and the rules thereunder)?
- Does the repeated writing of a non-candidate’s name on multiple ballots in the same precinct constitute a marking that invalidates those ballots?
- May variant or abbreviated writings (idem sonans, initials, or common misspellings) and certain extraneous words be treated as valid votes u...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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