Title
Nalog vs. De Guzman
Case
G.R. No. L-25656
Decision Date
May 31, 1967
1963 Antipolo vice-mayoral election protest: Nalog wins by 1 vote after Supreme Court validates ballots, upholds voter intent, and affirms jurisdiction over legal questions.
vice mayoral election
legal battle
deducting nine votes
A

Case Digest (G.R. No. 188666)

Facts:

  • Background of the Election
    • The general elections were held on November 12, 1963, in the municipality of Antipolo, Rizal, where the candidates for the office of vice-mayor were Nazario Nalog and Nemesio de Guzman.
    • Initially, on November 13, 1963, the municipal board of canvassers proclaimed Nemesio de Guzman as the winner with a plurality of five (5) votes over Nazario Nalog.
  • Filing of the Election Protest
    • Following the proclamation, protestant Nazario Nalog, together with candidates for councilors from his party, filed election protest No. 7921 against the election result on November 26, 1963.
    • The protest was handled jointly with Election Case No. 7918, which involved the office of the Mayor of Antipolo, indicating a consolidated review of electoral disputes.
  • Determination by the Lower Court
    • After due proceedings, the Court of First Instance of Rizal rendered a joint decision for both cases, finding that in Election Case No. 7921, Nazario Nalog had obtained 2,048 votes compared to 2,038 votes for Nemesio de Guzman.
    • As a result, the lower court proclaimed Nalog as the duly elected vice-mayor, ordering costs against De Guzman, who then appealed to the Supreme Court.
  • Examination and Challenge of Ballots
    • The controversy centered on several ballots and exhibits, with appellant De Guzman challenging the crediting of certain ballots to Nalog.
      • De Guzman objected to eleven specific ballots (Exhibits NN-168, NN-171, NN-180, NN-185, NN-188, NN-191, NN-192, NN-197, NN-206, NN-207, and NN-208), asserting that some votes were cast on spaces meant for councilors, and that some ballots bore improper markings such as crossed-out names or corrections.
    • Detailed issues included:
      • For some ballots, the candidate’s name was written on a non-designated space (e.g., a vote marked for vice-mayor in the wrong area), or contained stray marks like an extra “N.” or a correction indicating a change of heart.
      • Specific attention was given to instances where the ballot exhibited ambiguous handwriting, such as corrections that transformed letters or names (e.g., misinterpretation of “NAM” corrected to “NARO”), and where a sticker with the name “NALOG” appeared on the ballot, thus rendering it marked and void by law.
  • Additional Ballot Controversies
    • Appellant De Guzman further raised issues in several groups of ballots:
      • One group of sixteen (16) ballots (Exhibits NG-2, NG-6, NG-40, NG-41, NG-42, NG-44, NG-45, NG-48, NG-52, NG-53, NG-54, NG-55, NG-71, NG-124, NG-125, and NG-131) was contested on the ground that fingerprints appeared on the ballots, raising questions about their validity.
      • Another group of twenty (20) ballots (Exhibits NG-4, NG-16, NG-17, NG-18, NG-46, NG-49, NG-59, NG-60, NG-93, NG-101, NG-112, NG-118, NG-123, NG-126, NG-128, NG-142-A, NG-144, NG-145, NG-164, and NG-165) was objected to because the names were allegedly printed in extraordinarily big letters.
    • Additional assignments of error included:
      • Allegations that some ballots were written by two distinct persons.
      • Claims that votes where the appellant’s name appeared on spaces other than that for vice-mayor should be valid for him.
      • Objections concerning one ballot (Exhibit NG-198) that was allegedly omitted from the vote computation.
  • Final Vote Computation and Outcome
    • The lower court, after resolving the various objections, deducted nine (9) specific votes from those credited to Nalog (Exhibits NG-99, NN-171, NN-180, NN-185, NN-188, NN-191, NN-192, NN-197, and NN-206).
    • This adjustment brought the total votes for Nalog down from 2,048 to 2,039, thereby achieving a plurality of one (1) vote over De Guzman’s 2,038 votes.
    • The decision of the lower court was subsequently affirmed, with costs imposed against appellant Nemesio de Guzman.

Issues:

  • Jurisdiction over Election Protests
    • Whether the Supreme Court could review a decision on election protests involving offices of regular municipalities, given that Section 178 of the Revised Election Code appears to limit appeal routes for certain local positions.
    • Determining the applicability of Article VIII, Section 2 of the Constitution, which permits review of questions purely of law, despite statutory limitations.
  • Proper Crediting and Rejection of Ballots
    • Whether the specific ballots challenged by appellant—alleged to have stray votes, mis-markings, or corrections—were appropriately credited or should have been excluded.
    • The legitimacy of counting ballots showing irregularities such as crossed-out names, ambiguous writings, and misplaced candidate designations.
  • Evidentiary Issues on Ballot Validity
    • Whether the presence of allegedly accidental markings, such as fingerprints or extra-large print, affected the legitimacy of the ballots in question.
    • If the fact-based disputes regarding voter intent, as determined from physical ballots, fall within the reviewable scope of appellate power.
  • Computation and Omission of Votes
    • Whether the computation of votes—particularly the deduction of nine specific votes—was correct.
    • The claim by appellant that certain votes (e.g., from Exhibit NG-198) were improperly omitted from the count.

Ruling:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Ratio:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Doctrine:

  • (Subscriber-Only)
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