G.R. No. 89604 - Flores vs. Commission on Elections

On March 28, 1989, barangay elections were held in Barangay Poblacion, Tayum, Abra.
Roque Flores, petitioner, was proclaimed by the board of canvassers as having received the highest number of votes for kagawad and thus became punong barangay under Section 5 of Republic Act No. 6679.
Republic Act No. 6679, Section 5, establishes a sangguniang barangay composed of seven (7) kagawads elected by registered barangay voters; the candidate with the highest number of votes among kagawads becomes the punong barangay.

Nobelito Rapisora, private respondent, who placed second by one vote, protested the election.
The Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Tayum, Abra, ruled in favor of Rapisora after deducting two votes from Flores as stray votes, thereby placing Rapisora first.
Flores appealed to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Abra, which affirmed the municipal court ruling, agreeing with the rejection of four votes that bore only the surname "Flores" without further identifiers.
The Regional Trial Court reduced Flores’ total votes from 464 to 462, dropping him to second place behind Rapisora.

Flores appealed to the COMELEC, which dismissed his appeal, holding it lacked jurisdiction to review the RTC decision.
The dismissal was based on Section 9 of RA No. 6679, which provides that decisions of the municipal or metropolitan trial courts in barangay election protests are appealable to the RTC and that RTC decisions on factual questions are final and non-appealable.
The petitioner challenged COMELEC's dismissal on the basis that COMELEC had exclusive appellate jurisdiction over contests involving elective barangay officials decided by courts of limited jurisdiction per Article IX-C, Section 2(2) of the Constitution.

The Solicitor General took the position that municipal or metropolitan trial courts are courts of limited jurisdiction; hence, their election protest decisions are appealable to the COMELEC, not RTC.
Citing the Supreme Court decision in Luison v. Garcia (1957), the Court emphasized that the COMELEC has exclusive jurisdiction over certain election contest appeals and that the judicial appellate process in barangay election contests is constitutionally mandated.

Flores contended entitlement to votes under Section 211(2) of the Omnibus Election Code (equity-of-the-incumbent rule) which benefits candidates with the same name who are incumbent officials.
COMELEC Resolution No. 2022-A, Section 16(3), declared that incumbent barangay captains who filed certificates of candidacy for kagawad were deemed resigned upon filing, rendering Flores ineligible for the rule’s benefit as he was not an incumbent kagawad but incumbent punong barangay when he filed.
Flores argued he was always a kagawad as member of the sangguniang barangay and therefore was running for the same office, negating his resignation status.

The Supreme Court recognized the constitutional defect in Section 9 of RA No. 6679 related to appellate jurisdiction.
The Court excused the petitioner’s procedural misstep due to reliance on the statute’s then presumed validity.
The Court reviewed the legal question concerning the applicability of the equity-of-the-incumbent rule regarding Flores' candidacy and office status.

Whether the provision in Section 9 of Republic Act No. 6679, allowing appeal from municipal or metropolitan trial courts to the regional trial court in barangay election contests, is constitutional considering constitutional provisions on COMELEC’s jurisdiction.

Whether the Commission on Elections had jurisdiction to entertain and decide the petitioner’s appeal from the Municipal Circuit Trial Court decision.

Whether Roque Flores, as incumbent punong barangay who filed a certificate of candidacy for kagawad, was deemed resigned upon filing such certificate pursuant to COMELEC Resolution No. 2022-A, and whether he was entitled to the benefit of the equity-of-the-incumbent rule under Section 211(2) of the Omnibus Election Code.

Whether the four contested votes bearing only the surname “Flores” should be credited to Roque Flores or considered stray.