Torres v. Commission on Elections
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: On 9 May 1995, the Municipal Board of Canvassers (MBC) of Tanza, Cavite, proclaimed Atty. Rosauro I. Torres as the fifth winning Municipal Councilor based on the Certificate of Canvass of Votes. Two days later, the MBC requested the COMELEC for a correction, stating that a clerical error in the Statement of Votes resulted in petitioner Torres receiving 934 erroneous votes, which should have been added to Mr. Bernardo C. Dimaala. The correction would place Torres in the tenth position and Vicente Rafael A. de Peralta in the eighth winning position. Procedural History: The COMELEC set the case for hearing, and summonses were issued to petitioner Torres and private respondent Peralta. Petitioner argued that the Regional Trial Court (RTC) had jurisdiction over the matter, not the COMELEC, citing Sec. 251 of the Omnibus Election Code. Private respondent argued for the annulment of Torres' proclamation and his own proclamation. The Petition: Petitioner Torres filed a petition with the Supreme Court, alleging that the COMELEC acted without or in excess of jurisdiction in granting the MBC's request for correction and in ordering the proclamation of Peralta, thereby ousting him from the list of winners. He contended that the MBC had no legal personality to file the action motu proprio and that corrections are only allowed before proclamation.
Issue(s)
Whether the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has the authority to order the correction of manifest errors in the tabulation or tallying of election returns or certificates of canvass, even after a proclamation has been made, and if so, under what conditions. Whether the Municipal Board of Canvassers (MBC) has the legal personality to file a request for correction motu proprio before the COMELEC, and the procedural implications thereof. Whether corrections in vote tabulation are permissible only before proclamation, and the effect of a void proclamation on COMELEC's authority to correct errors.
Ruling
The Petition is DISMISSED and the Resolution of the COMELEC En Banc dated 28 June 1995 is AFFIRMED.
Ratio Decidendi
On the authority of COMELEC to correct errors after proclamation: The Supreme Court affirmed the COMELEC's authority, citing Sec. 7, Rule 27 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure. This rule allows the board to correct manifest errors in tabulation or tallying of election returns or certificates of canvass, even after proclamation, if the validity of the proclamation is in question. The Court clarified that while the rule typically applies to pre-proclamation controversies, it can be applied even after proclamation if the proclamation's validity is precisely the issue. The case of Duremdes v. Comelec was cited, where the Court sustained COMELEC's power to order a correction of the Statement of Votes to conform to election returns, even after proclamation, as a void proclamation is no proclamation at all. On the legal personality of the MBC to file a request for correction: The Court implicitly upheld the MBC's action by affirming the COMELEC's resolution. The COMELEC's own comment highlighted that the MBC requested the correction. Furthermore, Sec. 7, Rule 27 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure explicitly states that the board may correct errors motu proprio or upon verified petition. The MBC's request, even if not a formal petition, initiated the process that the COMELEC then acted upon after due notice and hearing. On whether corrections are permissible only before proclamation: The Court rejected this contention. It reiterated the principle established in Duremdes v. Comelec that if a proclamation is null and void due to errors, the COMELEC retains the power to declare such nullity and annul the proclamation. The Statement of Votes, which forms the basis of the proclamation, can be corrected if it contains simple arithmetic or mechanical errors. The MBC, in making such corrections, acts in an administrative capacity under the direct control and supervision of the COMELEC, which has the constitutional function to decide all questions affecting elections.
Main Doctrine
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has the authority to order the correction of manifest errors in the tabulation or tallying of election returns or certificates of canvass, even after a proclamation has been made, if the validity of the proclamation is in question due to such errors. The Municipal Board of Canvassers acts administratively under COMELEC's supervision in rectifying purely mathematical or mechanical errors.