Facts:

• Mamerto T. Sevilla, Jr. and Renato R. So were candidates for Punong Barangay of Barangay Sucat, Muntinlupa City during the October 25, 2010 elections.
• Sevilla was proclaimed the winner with 7,354 votes, a margin of 628 votes over So's 6,726 votes.
• On November 4, 2010, So filed an election protest with the Muntinlupa City Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC), Branch 80, alleging electoral fraud and requested a manual revision of the ballots.
• The MeTC dismissed So's election protest on May 4, 2011, after a recount.
• So's motion for reconsideration was denied by the MeTC on May 17, 2011, as it was deemed a prohibited pleading.
• So filed a petition for certiorari with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on May 31, 2011, alleging grave abuse of discretion by the MeTC Judge.
• The Comelec Second Division granted So's petition on May 14, 2012, and the Comelec en banc affirmed this ruling on October 6, 2012, by a 3-3 vote.
• Sevilla filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court to nullify the Comelec's resolutions.

Issue:

• (Unlock)

Ruling:

1. The Supreme Court dismissed Sevilla's petition for certiorari.
2. The case was remanded to ...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The Supreme Court held that the Comelec en banc's October 6, 2012 resolution lacked legal effect as it was not a majority decision required by the Constitution and the Comelec Rules of Procedure.
• Section 7, Article IX-A of the 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates that each Commission must decide by a majority vote of all its members.
• The Comelec Rules of Procedure similarly require a majority vote of all members for a valid decision.
• The equally divided 3-3 vote did not meet the majority requirement, rendering the resolution ineffective.
• In situations where t...continue reading