Case Digest (G.R. No. 124893)
Facts:
Lynette G. Garvida v. Florencio G. Sales, Jr., G.R. No. 124893, April 18, 1997, the Supreme Court En Banc, Puno, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Lynette G. Garvida sought to annul the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) en banc order of May 2, 1996 directing the Board of Election Tellers/Canvassers of Barangay San Lorenzo, Bangui, Ilocos Norte, to suspend her proclamation in the May 6, 1996 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections pending resolution of a petition to deny/cancel her certificate of candidacy filed by rival candidate Florencio G. Sales, Jr. Respondents included the COMELEC en banc, Election Officer Dionisio F. Rios, and Provincial Supervisor Noli Pipo.
Chronology: On March 16, 1996 Garvida applied for registration as a member/voter of the Katipunan ng Kabataan but was denied by the Board of Election Tellers due to alleged age nonconformity with COMELEC Resolution No. 2824 §3(b). On April 2, 1996 she filed a petition for inclusion with the Municipal Circuit Trial Court, which on April 18, 1996 found her qualified and ordered registration. The Board of Election Tellers appealed to the Regional Trial Court; the RTC judge inhibited himself. On April 23, 1996 Garvida filed her certificate of candidacy; Election Officer Rios (per Provincial Supervisor Pipo) initially disapproved it for age, but COMELEC Regional Director Filemon Asperin set aside that disapproval and allowed her to run.
Unbeknownst to local COMELEC officials, private respondent Sales filed a "Petition for Denial and/or Cancellation of Certificate of Candidacy" which was transmitted to COMELEC national office by facsimile and registered mail on April 29, 1996. On May 2, 1996 the COMELEC en banc — without referring the petition to a Division and despite procedural filing irregularities — issued an order directing suspension of Garvida’s proclamation if she won, and requested ten copies of the petition and payment of fees. On May 6, 1996 Garvida received 78 votes to Sales’s 76; pursuant to the en banc order the Board initially did not proclaim her. Garvida filed a petition for certiorari on May 27, 1996.
Subsequently, on June 2, 1996 the Board proclaimed Garvida winner "without prejudice to any further action" by COMELEC or others. She assumed office on June 1 and later won as Auditor in the municipal SK federation on July 5, 1996. The COMELEC order and the underlying questions of (a) wh...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the COMELEC en banc have jurisdiction to entertain and act on Sales’s petition to deny/cancel Garvida’s certificate of candidacy given the COMELEC Rules on Divisions and the petition’s filing defects?
- Was petitioner Lynette G. Garvida ineligible to be a candidate and to occupy the office of Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman on May 6, 1996 because she ex...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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