G.R. No. 32039 , July 26, 1929
MOISES SAN JUAN, contestant-appellant, vs. MIGUEL R. CORNEJO, ARTEMIO REYES and RAMON COMAGON, contestees. MIGUEL R. CORNEJO, appellee.

Ponente: STREET, J.

FACTS

In the June 5, 1928 election for Municipal President of Pasay, Rizal, the official returns showed Miguel R. Cornejo as the winner with 1,060 votes, followed by Moises San Juan with 1,028 votes. San Juan filed an election contest. A recount in the first thirteen precincts resulted in minor vote adjustments, leaving the outcome dependent on Precinct No. 14. In that precinct, the returns showed Cornejo receiving 124 votes and San Juan 24. However, during the judicial recount, it was discovered that 92 of the ballots counted for Cornejo were written on unofficial or counterfeit ballots. If these 92 ballots were invalidated, San Juan would win. The trial court found that the counterfeit ballots were not the ones actually voted but were surreptitiously introduced into the ballot box after the official count, substituting for an equal number of genuine ballots. This conclusion was based on key evidence: the numbered stubs detached from the ballots used by voters were all found in the box for spoiled ballots, and these stubs matched the paper of the official ballots, proving that official ballots corresponding to those stubs had been legitimately issued and used on election day.

ISSUE

Should the 92 counterfeit ballots found in Precinct No. 14 during the judicial recount be invalidated, thereby changing the election result in favor of appellant Moises San Juan?

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision, declaring Miguel R. Cornejo the rightfully elected Municipal President. The Court upheld the finding that the ballot box for Precinct No. 14 had been violated after the official canvass. The presence of all genuine, detached stubs in the spoiled ballot box conclusively proved that the corresponding number of official ballots had been validly issued and cast. Therefore, the 92 counterfeit ballots bearing Cornejo’s name were not the votes cast by the electorate but were fraudulent substitutions introduced post-election. In such a case, where the integrity of the ballot box contents has been compromised after the official count, the court must rely on the official election returns, which credited Cornejo with 124 votes in that precinct. The appellant failed to prove that the contestee, Cornejo, was responsible for the fraud. Consequently, the official count stands, and Cornejo’s victory is sustained.