Deles v. Alkonga
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: This case involves an appeal concerning the election for the office of municipal president in the municipality of San Dionisio, Province of Iloilo, held on June 5, 1928. The protestant, Ramon Deles, alleged errors in the counting of votes by the Court of First Instance of Iloilo, which found that the protestee, Arellano Alkonga, obtained 243 votes and the protestant obtained 216 votes. Procedural History: The Court of First Instance of Iloilo rendered a judgment favoring the protestee, Arellano Alkonga. The protestant, Ramon Deles, appealed this judgment to the Supreme Court. The Petition: The appellant assigned three errors allegedly committed by the trial court: (1) counting as valid votes for the protestee ballots with 'AA', 'Arellano A.', and 'Arillano a.'; (2) counting as valid votes for the protestee ballots with 'Arellano Ala', 'Arellano Alce' or 'Arellano Alco', 'Arilla Alegr', and 'Arellano Alkon'; and (3) failing to declare the registration and voting in the third precinct void due to alleged fraud.
Issue(s)
Whether ballots with 'AA', 'Arellano A.', and 'Arillano a.' in the space for municipal president are valid votes for Arellano Alkonga. Whether ballots with 'Arellano Ala', 'Arellano Alce' or 'Arellano Alco', 'Arilla Alegr', and 'Arellano Alkon' are valid votes for Arellano Alkonga. Whether the registration and voting in the third precinct of San Dionisio were void, unlawful, and fraudulent.
Ruling
The Supreme Court modified the decision of the lower court by subtracting 24 ballots with the initials 'a.A.' and one ballot with 'Arilla Alegr' from the protestee's total, reducing his plurality to 7 votes. The judgment, with this modification, was affirmed.
Ratio Decidendi
On the issue of ballots with 'AA', 'Arellano A.', and 'Arillano a.': The Court held that while the Christian name and the initial of the surname alone are generally insufficient to identify a candidate, an exception exists when there is only one candidate bearing a certain Christian name and surname. In such cases, the Christian name and the initial of the Christian name alone can be sufficient. However, the Court clarified that for the initial letter of the Christian name to suffice, it must be accompanied by the full surname, and for the initial letter of the surname to suffice, it must be accompanied by the full Christian name. The Court found that the initials 'A.A.' were inadequate to identify Arellano Alkonga as the candidate for municipal president, as the first 'a' could be the initial of many surnames, and thus did not necessarily mean 'Alkonga'. Consequently, 24 ballots with 'a.A.' and one with 'a.A.' were subtracted. On the issue of ballots with 'Arellano Ala', 'Arellano Alce' or 'Arellano Alco', 'Arilla Alegr', and 'Arellano Alkon': The Court applied the idem sonans rule, which allows for the admission of ballots where the name written is phonetically similar to the candidate's name, even if misspelled. The Court found that 'Arellano Ala', 'Arellano Alce' or 'Arellano Alco', and 'Arellano Alkon' were phonetically similar to 'Arellano Alkonga' and thus valid. However, the ballot with 'Arilla Alegr' was rejected because 'Alegr' is not idem sonans with 'Alkonga'. This resulted in the exclusion of one ballot. On the issue of precinct irregularities: The Court found no sufficient grounds to declare the registration and voting in the third precinct void. The change in the location of the registration from the town to the barrio and the voting in the town did not prevent registered electors from voting, nor was it shown that the change caused any prejudice to the protestant. Only one qualified elector, Fermin Montejo, was presented as unable to vote due to the change, and another, Anatolio Begaforo, was not registered in that precinct. The Court concluded that these irregularities did not substantially affect the election outcome.
Main Doctrine
The Court affirmed the principle that while initials alone may suffice to identify a candidate if there is only one candidate with that Christian name and surname, the initials 'A.A.' are insufficient to identify a candidate for municipal president without further context, and that variations in spelling are admissible under the idem sonans rule unless the variation fundamentally alters the name.