Case Digest (G.R. No. L-53793)
Facts:
Leonor A. Garcia v. The Honorable Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 53793; and Honorato C. Perez, Sr. v. The Honorable Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 54277, June 29, 1981, Supreme Court En Banc, Makasiar, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Leonor A. Garcia was the Lapiang Pagkakaisa ng Bayan (LPB) candidate for Mayor of Cabanatuan City in the January 30, 1980 local elections; private respondent Honorato C. Perez, Sr. was the incumbent mayor and the KBL candidate. After the polls, the City Board of Canvassers initially convened (Jan. 30–31) and, despite a telegraphic instruction from COMELEC to suspend canvass, proceeded to proclaim Garcia as mayor on February 2, 1980.
Perez filed successive petitions (Jan. 31, Feb. 1, Feb. 5, 1980) before the City Board and the COMELEC, alleging massive vote‑buying, terrorism, flying voters, and tampering in numerous precincts and asking for suspension of proclamation, annulment/exclusion of returns, and recounts. The COMELEC sent Special Action Team No. 9 to Cabanatuan (Feb. 1), then on February 6 set aside the board’s proclamation, appointed a new board and ordered transmission of returns to Manila for recanvass. Garcia sought injunctive relief in the Supreme Court but that petition was dismissed.
The new Board (Regalado, chairman) recanvassed the returns in Manila (Feb. 26–29; Mar. 3–6). On March 5 the Board admitted certain evidence but ruled that the forty (40) contested returns should be included in the canvass; the March 6 local canvass produced Garcia as leading. Perez filed an urgent appeal to the COMELEC (Mar. 6); the COMELEC restrained proclamation, heard oral arguments (Mar. 11), received memoranda, and on March 27, 1980 issued a resolution excluding the forty contested returns and ordering the City Board to proclaim winners on the recanvass excluding those returns—resulting in the proclamation of Perez. Garcia moved for reconsideration (Mar. 31); the COMELEC denied it by minute resolution dated April 16, 1980.
Garcia then filed certiorari with this Court (G.R. No. 53793) attacking the March 27 and April 16 COMELEC resolutions principally on grounds that COMELEC (a) acted with grave abuse of discretion in excluding the forty returns, (b) relied on handwriting experts without affording due process, and (c) improperly credited partisan affidavits over official teachers’ affidavits and PC/INP reports. Separately, Perez challenged COMELEC’s June 18, 1980 resolution (which had reinstated Garcia’s election protest ex abundante ad cautelam and deferred action while pre‑proclamation case was pending) by filing G.R. No. 54277.
On June 29, 1981 the Court (Makasiar, J.) dismissed b...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the COMELEC commit grave abuse of discretion or deny due process when it excluded forty (40) election returns from the canvass and set aside the City Board’s inclusion and proclamation?
- Was the COMELEC’s reinstatement of the election protest ex abundante ad cautelam and its holding of further action in abeyance until resolution of the p...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)