Title
Hayundini vs. Commission on Elections
Case
G.R. No. 207900
Decision Date
Apr 22, 2014
Hayudini’s CoC canceled due to false residency claim; RTC ruling deemed supervening event, voiding candidacy. Votes declared stray, Salma A. Omar proclaimed Mayor. COMELEC affirmed.
hayundini
commission on elections
false representation
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 176791)

Relevant Dates and Procedural Landmarks

October 5, 2012 — Hayudini filed his CoC for Mayor.
October 15, 2012 — Omar filed SPA No. 13‑106(DC)(F) to deny due course or cancel the CoC.
November 30, 2012 — Election Registration Board (ERB) denied Hayudini’s registration; Hayudini filed petition for inclusion before the MCTC.
January 31, 2013 — MCTC granted Hayudini’s petition for inclusion; COMELEC First Division dismissed Omar’s SPA No. 13‑106(DC)(F).
March 8, 2013 — RTC, on appeal, reversed the MCTC and ordered deletion of Hayudini’s name from the voters’ list (decision became final and executory under Sec. 138, Omnibus Election Code).
March 26, 2013 — Omar filed SPA No. 13‑249(DC)(F) to cancel the CoC by virtue of the RTC decision (supervening event).
April 17, 2013 — Court of Appeals denied Hayudini’s appeal.
May 13, 2013 — Hayudini won the mayoralty in the elections, was proclaimed, and took his oath.
June 20, 2013 — COMELEC Second Division granted Omar’s petition and cancelled Hayudini’s CoC.
July 10, 2013 — COMELEC En Banc denied Hayudini’s motion for reconsideration and declared his proclamation null and void, proclaiming Salma A. Omar as the duly elected mayor.
April 22, 2014 — Supreme Court decision affirming COMELEC (basis: 1987 Constitution).

Applicable Law and Primary Legal Provisions

  • 1987 Constitution (framework for electoral institutions and qualifications).
  • Omnibus Election Code (B.P. Blg. 881): Sec. 74 (contents of CoC), Sec. 78 (petition to deny due course or cancel CoC), Sec. 72 and Sec. 253 as referenced.
  • Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code), Sec. 39 (qualifications for local elective officials).
  • R.A. No. 6646, Sections 5–7 (procedures and effects relating to nuisance candidates and relation to CoC cancellation).
  • COMELEC Rules of Procedure (Rule 23 as amended by Resolution No. 9523/9532), particularly Sections 2 and 4 on filing period and service procedure.
  • Jurisprudence cited: Aratea v. COMELEC; Velasco v. COMELEC; Fermin v. COMELEC; and related decisions addressing liberal construction of election rules and effects of CoC cancellation.

Principal Legal Question

Whether the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion — amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction — by accepting and granting Omar’s belated petition to cancel Hayudini’s CoC, revisiting its earlier First Division dismissal, cancelling the CoC after the elections, and voiding Hayudini’s proclamation.

Standard for Certiorari and “Grave Abuse of Discretion”

A Rule 65 certiorari petition requires allegation and proof of grave abuse of discretion — a patent and gross arbitrary, capricious, whimsical or despotic exercise of judgment, or an evasion/refusal to perform a duty enjoined by law. The special civil action is available only where no plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law exists.

Timeliness and Service: COMELEC Rule vs. Supervening Event

Under COMELEC Rule 23 (as amended), a petition to deny due course or cancel a CoC must be filed within five days from the last day for filing CoCs but not later than twenty‑five days from the filing of the CoC; Section 4 requires personal service or affidavit and registered mail if personal service is not feasible. Omar’s March 26, 2013 petition was beyond the ordinary filing period and lacked satisfactory service explanation. COMELEC nonetheless entertained and granted the petition because of a supervening event — the RTC’s final March 8, 2013 decision deleting Hayudini’s name from the voters’ list — which materially changed the factual and legal landscape after the First Division’s January 31, 2013 dismissal.

Supervening Event Doctrine and COMELEC’s Discretion

A supervening event consists of facts or rulings transpiring after an earlier decision became executory and which affect the substance of that decision such that execution would be inequitable. The RTC decision, being final and executory under Sec. 138 (Omnibus Election Code), rendered prior COMELEC findings obsolete with respect to Hayudini’s voter status. The Court recognized COMELEC’s authority to treat its own procedural rules liberally in election cases to protect the electorate’s choice and to resolve doubts as to a winner’s qualification, citing precedent that election rules are to be liberally construed and that COMELEC may interpret or suspend procedural rules in the interest of justice and speedy disposition.

Material Representation, Residency, and Voter Registration as Grounds for Cancellation

Sections 74 and 78 of the Omnibus Election Code require that a CoC state under oath that the filer is eligible for the office; a petition under Sec. 78 may be filed exclusively on the ground that a material representation in the CoC is false. Residency and voter registration are material qualifications for local elective office (RA 7160, Sec. 39). The Court found that Hayudini’s statement in his CoC that he was a resident and eligible was materially false because, at the time of the dispositive RTC decision, he had been finally declared not a registered voter of Barangay Bintawlan. The ERB had earlier denied his registration; he secured inclusion at the MCTC which was later reversed by the RTC on appeal. Because the RTC decision became final before the election, the falsity of the representation was a valid ground under Sec. 78 to cancel the CoC.

Effect of Cancellation: Void Ab Initio and Stray Votes

A CoC cancelled under Sec. 78 is treated as void ab initio; a cancelled CoC cannot give rise to a valid candidacy or valid votes. The remedy for cancellation treats the cancelled candidate as having never been a candidate; consequently, votes cast for him are considered stray. The Court affirmed COMELEC’s authority to continue cancellation proceedings even after election and proclamation (with the limited exception of congressional and senatorial candidates where jurisdiction shifts to the Electoral Tribunals). Nullification of proclamation is a necessary legal consequence of CoC cancellation under Sec. 78.

Application of Aratea and Resulting Proclamation of Second Placer

Relying on Aratea and analogous jurisprudence, the Court concluded that because Hayudini’s CoC was void ab initio by virtue of final adjudication of his ineligibility before the election, votes cast for him were stray and could not be counted. Therefore, the candidate among the remaining qualified contenders who obtained the highest number of valid votes — Salma A. Omar — was properly proclaimed by COMELEC as the duly elected mayor.

Distinction from Disqualification Proceedings (Section 68) and Non‑Applicability of Certain Authorities

The Court emphasized the distinction between cancellation under Sec. 78 (false material representation in CoC concerning eligibility) and disqualification under Sec. 68 (enumerated prohibited acts and other disqualifying traits). Codilla v. De Venecia (and other disqualification jurisprudence) was inapposite because those cases interpret Sec. 68 disqualification remedies, not Sec. 78 cancellation proceedings. The legal consequences and procedures differ between the two remedies.

Supreme Court’s Holding and Disposition

The Supreme Court dismissed Hayudini’s petition for certiorari and prohibition, finding no grave abuse of discretion by COMELEC. The COMELEC Resolutions of June 20 and July 10, 2013 cancelling Hayudini’s CoC and proclaiming Salma A. Omar were affirmed. No pronouncement as to costs.

Concurring and Dissenting Views — Justice Leonardo‑De Castro (Concurring in Result; Partial Dissent)

Justice Leonardo‑De Castro concurred in the result (affirming cancellation and proclamation of Salma) but dissented from the ponencia’s broad statement that the timing of CoC cancellation (before or after the election) is immaterial. He argued that Sections 6 and 7 of R.A. No. 6646 should operate together so that a temporal distinction is recognized: where a petition attains finality after the election, the votes already cast merit special consideration to preserve the sanctity of the ballot. He maintained that votes cast in honest belief for a candidate whose ineligibility was not notorio

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