Case Summary (G.R. No. 207900)
Key Dates
• October 5, 2012: Hayudini files Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) for mayor
• October 15, 2012: Omar files Petition to Cancel CoC (SPA No. 13-106)
• November 30, 2012: Hayudini petitions MCTC for inclusion in voter list (granted January 31, 2013)
• January 31, 2013: COMELEC First Division dismisses Omar’s first petition
• March 8, 2013: RTC reverses MCTC, orders deletion of Hayudini from voter list (final under OEC Sec. 138)
• March 26, 2013: Omar files second Petition to Cancel CoC (SPA No. 13-249)
• April 17, 2013: Court of Appeals denies Hayudini’s appeal (CA-G.R. SP No. 05426)
• May 13, 2013: Hayudini proclaimed mayor after elections
• June 20, 2013: COMELEC Second Division cancels Hayudini’s CoC
• July 10, 2013: COMELEC En Banc denies reconsideration, affirms cancellation and proclaims Salma A. Omar
• April 22, 2014: Supreme Court issues decision
Applicable Law
• 1987 Constitution (equal access to public service)
• Omnibus Election Code (B.P. Blg. 881):
– Sec. 74 (CoC contents and positive certifications)
– Sec. 78 (petition to deny due course or cancel CoC)
– Sec. 138 (finality of voter inclusion/exclusion decisions)
• COMELEC Rules of Procedure (Resolutions No. 9523, No. 9532): periods and procedures for petition filing and service
• Local Government Code (RA 7160) Sec. 39 (residency and voter registration qualifications)
• RA 6646 Secs. 6–7 (effects of disqualification cases and procedural application)
• Rules of Court, Rule 65 (certiorari and prohibition)
Procedural Background
Hayudini’s CoC was initially faced with Omar’s October 2012 cancellation petition for alleged false residency declaration. After MCTC inclusion and a First Division dismissal, the RTC reversed inclusion, rendering the voter status decision final. Omar’s March 26, 2013 petition challenged CoC as void ab initio. Despite Hayudini’s CA appeal denial, he won the mayoralty race and took office, only for COMELEC Second Division (June 20) and En Banc (July 10) to annul his CoC and proclamation, and proclaim Salma Omar.
Issues
- Whether COMELEC gravely abused discretion by entertaining a belated petition in SPA No. 13-249.
- Whether COMELEC improperly reopened and modified its First Division’s final resolution in SPA No. 13-106.
- Whether COMELEC lacked jurisdiction in cancelling Hayudini’s CoC and nullifying his proclamation.
- Whether COMELEC erred in proclaiming Salma Omar as duly elected mayor.
Nature of the Action and Standard of Review
Hayudini filed a Rule 65 petition for certiorari and prohibition to annul COMELEC resolutions for grave abuse of discretion (arbitrary, whimsical exercise of power). Rule 65 relief is available only if no other plain, speedy, adequate remedy exists and grave abuse of discretion is clearly demonstrated.
Liberal Construction of Election Rules
The Court reaffirmed that election statutes and COMELEC procedural rules must be construed liberally to uphold the electorate’s will and dispel prolonged uncertainty. Technical defects in petition timing or service may be overlooked to ensure prompt resolution of candidacy disputes (Tolentino; De Castro; Violago). COMELEC may loosely interpret or suspend its own rules to secure free, orderly, honest, and credible elections.
Supervening Event Basis for Cancellation
A final and executory RTC decision deleting Hayudini’s voter registration under Omnibus Election Code Sec. 138 constituted a valid supervening event. Supervening events are those facts or rulings arising after an earlier decision but before its full execution, altering the outcome’s substance and rendering prior resolutions inequitable if engineered to ignore them.
Material Misrepresentation Regarding Residency
Under OEC Secs. 74 and 78, a candidate’s sworn CoC must truthfully state eligibility facts including voter registration and residence. Hayudini’s CoC falsely represented he was registered and resident in South Ubian’s Barangay Bintawlan, when the final RTC ruling had deleted his registration. This misrepresentation of a material qualification ground for CoC cancellation.
Void Ab Initio Effect a
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Antecedent Facts
- On October 5, 2012, Gamal S. Hayudini filed his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) for Municipal Mayor of South Ubian, Tawi-Tawi, in the May 13, 2013 elections.
- On October 15, 2012, Mustapha J. Omar filed SPA No. 13-106(DC)(F) to deny due course or cancel Hayudini’s CoC, alleging false representation of residency (Hayudini declared residence in South Ubian but allegedly resided in Zamboanga City).
- On November 30, 2012, Hayudini petitioned the Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) for inclusion in Barangay Bintawlan’s permanent voter list; the MCTC granted this on January 31, 2013.
- Also on January 31, 2013, the COMELEC First Division dismissed Omar’s SPA 13-106 petition for lack of substantial evidence of false representation.
Further Developments
- Oppositor Ignacio Aguilar Baki appealed the MCTC order to the Regional Trial Court (RTC), which on March 8, 2013 reversed the MCTC and ordered Hayudini’s deletion from Barangay Bintawlan’s voter list—a decision that became final and executory.
- On March 26, 2013, Omar filed SPA No. 13-249(DC)(F) with COMELEC to cancel Hayudini’s CoC by virtue of the RTC’s final decision (a “supervening event”).
- Hayudini’s appeal of the RTC decision to the Court of Appeals (CA) was denied on April 17, 2013; a subsequent certiorari in CA was likewise denied on July 9, 2013 for forum shopping.
- On May 13, 2013, Hayudini won and was proclaimed Mayor of South Ubian; he took his oath of office.
COMELEC Resolutions
- June 20, 2013: COMELEC Second Division granted Omar’s SPA 13-249 petition, cancelled Hayudini’s CoC, and directed proclamation of the lawful winner.
- July 10, 2013: COMELEC En Banc denied Hayudini’s motion for reconsideration, affirmed cancellation of CoC, declared Hayudini’s proclamation null and void, and proclaimed Salma A. Omar as duly-elected Mayor, applying Aratea v. COMELEC doctrine (void ab initio votes become stray).
Petition for Certiorari
- Hayudini filed a Rule 65 petition with the Supreme Court seeking to annul both COMELEC Resolutions of June 20 and July 10, 2013, on grounds of grave abuse of discretion and lack or excess of jurisdiction.
Issues Presented
- Whether COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion by:
- Granting Omar’s belated SPA 13-249 petition despite p