Case Digest (G.R. No. 134657)
Facts:
This is Wenceslao P. Trinidad v. Commission on Elections, Pasay City Board of Election Canvassers and Jovito Claudio, G.R. No. 134657, December 15, 1999, the Supreme Court En Banc, Buena, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Wenceslao P. Trinidad and private respondent Jovito O. Claudio were candidates for mayor of Pasay City in the May 11, 1998 elections. On May 18, 1998 the Pasay City Board of Canvassers proclaimed Claudio the winner with 55,325 votes against Trinidad’s 55,097 votes.
On May 23, 1998 Trinidad filed with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) En Banc a petition for correction of manifest errors and annulment of proclamation, alleging among other things double canvassing of five election returns and inclusion of a bogus return; he claimed that correcting the errors would give him a plurality (54,916 to 54,857). On June 8, 1998 Trinidad filed a supplemental petition asserting a discrepant total in Summary of Statement of Votes No. 094338 (it showed 1009 votes for him when Statement of Vote No. 094284 showed 1099). The COMELEC ordered simultaneous memoranda on June 9, 1998 and the case was deemed submitted for resolution after the prescribed filing period.
The Pasay Board filed an answer; Claudio filed an answer/memorandum with a counter-petition for correction on June 15, 1998 claiming certain corrections would increase his lead. On July 18, 1998—after the case had been deemed submitted—Trinidad filed a Manifestation and Comments raising two new matters: (1) that five precincts had not been canvassed and (2) discrepancies in nine precincts, which he asserted would give him an 18-vote lead if corrected.
On July 29, 1998 the COMELEC En Banc issued a resolution authorizing the Pasay Board to re-convene and re-canvass to correct manifest clerical errors and the noted discrepancy between SOV 094284 and SOV 094338, but it dismissed the petition for annulment and the supplemental petition and affirmed the proclamations of Claudio and Reynaldo Mateo. Trinidad then filed this petition with the Supreme Court seeking certiorari, prohibition and mandamus with a prayer for temporary restraining o...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the Commission on Elections En Banc commit grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when it affirmed the proclamation of Jovito O. Claudio as mayor of Pa...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)