Abad v. Co
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: In the 15 July 2002 Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, Primitivo Co was initially proclaimed Punong Barangay of Barangay Maura, Aparri, Cagayan, having garnered 460 votes against Jaime Abad's 458 votes. Procedural History: Abad filed an Election Protest, alleging errors in the counting and crediting of votes. The Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) constituted a Revision Committee. After revision, the MCTC ruled that Co obtained 451 votes and Abad obtained 452 votes, thus proclaiming Abad as the winner. Co appealed to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). The COMELEC First Division, after re-appreciation, declared a tie with both candidates receiving 456 votes, ordering a drawing of lots. Abad moved for reconsideration. The COMELEC En Banc reversed the First Division, declaring Co the winner with 458 votes against Abad's 455 votes, based on its own re-appreciation and correction of the MCTC's tally. The Petition: Abad filed a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court, assailing the COMELEC En Banc's Resolution for allegedly committing grave abuse of discretion.
Issue(s)
Whether the COMELEC En Banc gravely abused its discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in declaring Co the winning Punong Barangay, including the re-appreciation of ballots and computation of votes.
Ruling
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition and affirmed the 4 March 2005 Resolution of the COMELEC En Banc, declaring Primitivo Co as the winning Punong Barangay of Barangay Maura, Aparri, Cagayan.
Ratio Decidendi
On the issue of grave abuse of discretion and the COMELEC En Banc's re-appreciation of ballots and computation of votes: The Court found no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the COMELEC En Banc. The MCTC's initial computation was found to be erroneous, particularly in its deduction of votes and failure to account for certain precinct tallies. The MCTC's final tally, which declared Abad the winner by one vote, was based on an incorrect calculation, even failing to add a vote that should have been credited to Co. The COMELEC First Division, while re-appreciating ballots, also made an error in counting Exhibit "E" in favor of Abad, which should have been credited to Co under the neighborhood rule. The COMELEC En Banc correctly reversed this finding and also corrected the MCTC's erroneous addition of a vote to Abad, instead adding it to Co's tally. This correction led to the final vote count of 458 for Co and 455 for Abad. The Court emphasized that the COMELEC has the authority to re-appreciate ballots and correct errors in the lower courts' computations to arrive at the true will of the electorate. The COMELEC En Banc's actions were deemed a proper exercise of its jurisdiction to ascertain the correct number of votes for each candidate, thus preventing a miscarriage of justice. The Court concluded that the COMELEC En Banc's decision was supported by substantial evidence and consistent with election laws and jurisprudence.
Main Doctrine
The Supreme Court affirmed the COMELEC En Banc's declaration of Primitivo Co as the winning Punong Barangay, finding no grave abuse of discretion in the COMELEC's re-appreciation of ballots and correction of the MCTC's erroneous computation, which ultimately resulted in Co garnering more votes than Abad.