G.R. No. 184586 - Flauta, Jr. vs. Commission on Elections

The case arose from the May 15, 2007 local elections in the municipality of Senator Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat, where petitioner Rafael Flauta, Jr. and others were proclaimed winning candidates for mayor, vice mayor, and councilor positions.
Respondent Dante Manganaan, a mayoralty candidate, filed a petition challenging the proclamation on the ground that several Statements of Votes by Precinct (SOVPs) contained manifest errors.
The petition sought the annulment of SOVP Nos. 0000877, 0000878, 0000879, and 0000880.

On May 16, 2007, during the canvassing proceedings, the process was disrupted by explosions and gunfire.
During the disruption, Melicano Bernan and Julio Collantes, the then chairman and secretary of the Municipal Board of Canvassers, respectively, absconded with fully or partially completed SOVPs covering 81 out of 106 precincts.
A police certification issued on May 17, 2007 by Police Inspector Pablito Silve Nasataya corroborated the incidents as recorded in the police blotter.

On May 21, 2007, an SBOC was constituted with Josephine Macapas as Chairman, Oliver Alar as Vice Chairman, and Reginald Abad as Secretary.
The SBOC canvassed only the remaining 25 precincts while the missing SOVPs were not submitted by Bernan and Collantes.
On May 23, 2007, Manganaan communicated his desire to annul certain portions of the SOVPs via a formal request addressed to the SBOC and Commissioner Romeo A. Brawner, who then issued a memorandum ordering:

The nullification of SOVP Nos. 0000877, 0000878, and 0000880 and page three of SOVP No. 0000879.
The conduction of a re-canvassing of all election returns except for those already canvassed by the SBOC.
A prohibition on making any proclamations until the re-canvassing was completed.

Despite the memorandum, the SBOC proceeded to convene and proclaimed the winning candidates without addressing the missing SOVPs.
On July 3, 2007, Manganaan filed a Motion for Clarification and/or Reconsideration of Resolution No. 8212, which had been issued by the COMELEC en banc on June 28, 2007, listing pending cases (excluding this case).
The issue was further compounded when on September 25, 2008, the COMELEC en banc issued a resolution denying Manganaan’s petition to nullify the SOVPs on their face and instead, reclassified the petition as one to correct manifest errors.
The resolution directed the SBOC to:

The resolution also mandated an investigation into the actions of Bernan and Collantes.
Subsequent to the resolution, developments included:

On January 12, 2009, the SBOC reconvened, annulled the earlier proclamation of Flauta, Jr., and corrected the canvassing errors, subsequently proclaiming Manganaan as the duly elected mayor.
Flauta, Jr. filed an election protest before the Regional Trial Court on January 21, 2009.

Manganaan later argued that his petition should be dismissed on grounds of mootness due to his proclamation and oath-taking, while petitioners contended that procedural irregularities and conversion of his petition from one to annul proclamation to one for correcting manifest errors were improper.

Whether the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of or excess of jurisdiction in:

Converting the petition from one to annul proclamation into one to correct manifest errors.
Accepting a motion for clarification/reconsideration that allegedly did not comply with procedural requirements.

Whether a petition to correct manifest errors may be entertained after the proclamation of winning candidates has been made.
Whether the particulars of the petition, particularly its treatment as a motion and its subsequent conversion, deprived the petitioners of their due process rights.

Whether the procedure adopted by the COMELEC, which involved the conversion and reclassification of Manganaan’s petition, violated the petitioners’ right to due process.
Whether the absence of a notice of hearing in Manganaan’s motion was a substantial ground warranting the petition’s dismissal.

Whether the erroneous conduct in the handling of the SOVPs – particularly the removal of these documents by board members during the canvassing – vitiated the integrity of the electoral process.
Whether the COMELEC’s decision to re-canvass and correct the manifest errors was justified in view of the overarching mandate to determine the true will of the electorate.