Case Digest (G.R. No. 46920)
Facts:
Pablo L. Torres v. Esteban Mayo, G.R. No. 46920, December 02, 1939, the Supreme Court, Villa-Real, J., writing for the Court.In the general elections of December 14, 1937, Pablo L. Torres and Esteban Mayo were opposing candidates for Mayor of Lipa, Batangas. After precinct canvasses the municipal board of canvassers issued returns that, as stated in the record, showed Torres with 4,352 votes and Mayo with 4,845 votes and nevertheless proclaimed Torres mayor-elect with a plurality of seven votes. Dissatisfied, Esteban Mayo filed a written election protest in due time with the Court of First Instance of Batangas.
Following trial and the taking of evidence, the Court of First Instance rendered judgment on August 10, 1938 declaring Torres mayor-elect with 4,377 votes against Mayo's 4,346 votes (a plurality of thirty-one for Torres). Esteban Mayo appealed to the Court of Appeals (docketed CA-G.R. No. 4034). On August 1, 1939 the Third Division of the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and adjudged Mayo mayor-elect with 4,368 votes against Torres' 4,366 (a plurality of two for Mayo).
On August 26, 1939 Torres moved for reconsideration before the Court of Appeals, complaining that the appellate court erred in admitting certain ballots for the respondent and rejecting others for him contrary to law and controlling election jurisprudence; the motion was denied. Torres then brought the present petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court, asking that the Court of Appeals' decision be set aside and that the ballots be re-examined under the applicable legal standards.
The Supreme Court reviewed the challenged ballots individually. For some ballots the Court applied the rule treating non-candidate names and evident misspellings as scattering votes under Section 464 of the Election Law (as amended by Acts Nos. 3210 and 3387) and relied on prior decisions such as Cailles v. Gomez, Valenzuela v. Carlos, Salak v. Espinosa, Aviado v. Talens, Namocatcat v. Adag, and Coscolluela v. Gasto...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals commit legal error in admitting or rejecting particular ballots challenged by petitioner Torres?
- If certain ballots were improperly handled by the Court of Appeals, should the Supreme Court correct the count and declare To...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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