61- Garchitorena v.

Crescini
FACTS: An election was held in said province for governor, and other provincial and
municipal officers. At said election, Andres Garchitorena, Manuel Crescini, Engracio
Imperial, and Francisco Botor were candidates for the office of governor. Manuel
Crescini was declared as the Governor. Andres Garchitorena presented a protest
against said election, alleging that many frauds and irregularities had been committed in
various municipalities of said province, and that he had, in fact, received a majority of all
legal votes cast. Judge Maximino Mina, declared that Andres Garchitorena had, in fact,
received a majority of the legal votes cast, and ordered the provincial board of
inspectors to correct its report theretofore made. A new trial was ordered before the
judge Isidro Paredes, judge, who, after considering all the proof adduced during the trial
of the cause, reached exactly the conclusion which Judge Mina.
RULING: Yes Petitioner, in this case is the winner in the elections. The presumption is
that an election is honestly conducted, and the burden of proof to show it otherwise is
on the party assailing the return. But when the return is clearly shown to be wilfully and
corruptly false, the whole of it becomes worthless as proof. In democracies the
people, combined, represent the sovereign power of the State. Their sovereign
authority is exercise through the ballot, of the qualified voters, in duly appointed
elections held from time to time, by means of which they choose their officials for
definite and fixed periods, and to whom they entrust, for the time being, as their
representatives, the exercise of the powers of government.
62- Moya v. Del Fierro
ISSUE: After the canvass of the returns the municipal council of Paracale, acting as
board of canvassers, proclaimed Ireneo as the elected mayor of said municipality with a
majority of 102 votes. Del Fierro field a motion of protest in the Court of First Instance of
Camarines Norte. CA declared respondent, Agripino Ga. del Fierro as the mayor of the
municipality of Paracale, Province of Camarines Norte, with a majority of three votes
over his rival, Irineo Moya.
RULING: SC ruled that Fierro won in this case. We are inclined to accept the rest of the
disputed ballots for the respondent not only for the specific reasons already given but
also and principally for the more fundamental reason now to be stated. As long as
popular government is an end to be achieved and safeguarded, suffrage, whatever may
be the modality and form devised, must continue to be the manes by which the great
reservoir of power must be emptied into the receptacular agencies wrought by the
people through their Constitution in the interest of good government and the common
weal. Republicanism, in so far as it implies the adoption of a representative type of
government, necessarily points to the enfranchised citizen as a particle of popular
sovereignty and as the ultimate source of the established authority. He has a voice in
his Government and whenever called upon to act in justifiable cases, to give it efficacy
and not to stifle it. This, fundamentally, is the reason for the rule that ballots should be
read and appreciated, if not with utmost, with reasonable, liberality. No technical rule or
rules should be permitted to defeat the intention of the voter, if that intention is
discoverable from the ballot itself, not from evidence aliunde. This rule of interpretation
goes to the very root of the system. Rationally, also, this must be the justification for the
suggested liberalization of the rules on appreciation of ballots which are now
incorporated in section 144 of the Election Code.
63-Badelles v. Cabili
FACTS: Two election protests were filed against the duly proclaimed Mayor and
Councilors of Iligan City, after the Nov. 14, 1967. Badelles and Camilo P. Cabili were
the duly registered candidates for the Office of City Mayor of Iligan City. It was then
alleged that the Board of Canvassers, on November 25, 1967, proclaimed as elected
protestee (Cabili) for having obtained 11,310 votes while protestant was credited with
8,966 votes. Badelles would impugn the election of Cabili on the ground that there were
flagrant violation of mandatory provisions of law relating to or governing elections in that
more than 200 voters were registered per precinct contrary to the provision limiting such
number of 200 only and that no publication of the list of voters for each precinct was
made up to the election day itself, enabling persons who under the law could not vote
being allowed to do so. As a result of such alleged flagrant violations of the laws relation
to or governing elections around 8,300 individuals were allowed to vote illegally. The
lower court dismiss the case for lack of cause of action.
ISSUE: Whether or not SC should grant the protest.
RULING: SC granted the protest and remanded that case to the lower court for further
determination. A republic to be true to its name requires that the government rests
on the consent of the people, consent freely given, intelligently arrived at,
honestly recorded, and thereafter counted. A republic then to be true to its name
requires that the government rests on the consent of the people, consent freely
given, intelligently arrived at, honestly recorded, and thereafter counted. Only
thus can they be really looked upon as the ultimate sources of established
authority. It is their undeniable right to have officials of their unfettered choice.
The election law has no justification except as a means for assuring a free,
honest and orderly expression of their views. It is of the essence that corruption
and irregularities should not be permitted to taint the electoral process.

64 Pungutan v. Comelec
FACTS: This case involves the election for the delegates for the province of Sulu in the
1971 Constitutional Convention. Benjamin Abubakar filed a petition against Abdulfagar
Puñgutan alleging that in the towns of Siasi, Tapul, Parang and Luuk, no elections were
in effect held in view of massive violence, terrorism and fraud. Abdulfagar Puñgutan
denied the allegations claiming that election had in fact took place. After due hearings,
the COMELEC ruled in favor of Abubakar. It excluded from the canvass theelection
returns from the 4 towns in Sulu. This exclusion resulted toAbubakar winning the
election. Hence, this petition.
ISSUE: Whether or not the COMELEC has the power to disregard or annul the returns.
RULING: Yes. Usman v. COMELEC applies. Considering the findings of fact made by
the COMELEC that there exist massive fraud, terrorism and serious irregularities
attending the elections in the 4 towns of Sulu, it is not only justified but in fact a duty of
COMELEC to exclude these tainted returns. The right to vote has reference to a
constitutional guarantee of the utmost significance. It is a right without which the
principle of sovereignty residing in the people becomes nugatory. In the
traditional terminology, it is a political right enabling every citizen to participate in
the process of government to assure that it derives its power from the consent of
the governed. What was so eloquently expressed by Justice Laurel comes to
mind: "As long as popular government is an end to be achieved and safeguarded,
suffrage, whatever may be the modality and form devised, must continue to be
the means by which the great reservoir of power mus tbe emptied into the
receptacular agencies wrought by the people through their Constitution in the
interest of good government and the common weal. Republicanism, in so far as it
implies the adoption of a representative type of government, necessarily points to
the enfranchised citizen as a particle of popular sovereignty and as the ultimate
source of the established authority.
65 Macolor v. Amores
FACTS: In the elections of November 13, 1951, Simeon Macolor, protestant, and
Carlos Amores, protestee were candidates for the office of Mayor of Coron, Palawan.
After the election returns from all the precincts in said municipality had been received,
and after making a canvass thereof as required by law, on November 26, 1951, the
Municipal Board of Canvassers proclaimed the protestee as mayor-elect with a plurality
of 212 votes. In the island of Culion, there were three precincts known as precincts Nos.
16, 16-A and 16-B. In these precincts the protestant received 39 votes and the
protestee 430 votes. In making the canvass, these votes were added to those cast in
the other precincts of the municipality where the protestee received 444 votes and the
protestant 623 votes. Holding the view that the votes in said three precincts are illegal
because they were cast by persons residing in the island of Culion, which is a national
reservation, protestant instituted the present election contest. The lower court declared
illegal the votes cast in precincts Nos. 16, 16-A and 16-B and held the protestant as the
mayor-elect of Coron with a plurality of 179 votes.
ISSUE: Whether or not the votes cast in precincts Nos. 16, 16-A and 16-B which are
situated within the Culion Leper Colony which comes under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Health should be included.
RULING: They can only take part in national election and not municipal election.
Consistent with our opinion that the Culion Leper Colony is a national reservation with
an administrative organization separate and distinct from the municipal government of
Coron the only conclusion that can be drawn, in line with the principle underlying the
right of suffrage, is that these lepers can only take part in elections involving national
officials and not those referring to a municipal government. Inasmuch as they have no
connection whatsoever with the municipal government of Coron, politically or otherwise,
they should not be expected to intervene in the election of its officials upon the theory
that they do not form part of the people to be governed by said officials. The right of
suffrage is predicted upon the theory that the people who bear the burden of
government should share in the privilege of choosing the officials of that
government. That is the theory of a representative form of government. The
purpose of an election is to enable the electorate to choose the men that would
run their government, whether national, provincial, municipal, or city. If so, no
useful end will be served by allowing in the absence of express legislative
preference the voters of a city to participate in the election of the officials of the
province which has ceased to have any governmental authority over said city."
(Teves vs. Commission on Elections, 90 Phil., 370.) By analogy we can say that
the residents of the leper colony of Culion cannot take part in the election of the
officials of the municipality of Coron if they can exercise their right in so far as
the election of national officials is concerned.