G.R. No. L-5394 April 29, 1953
BERNARDO TORRES, protestant-appellant, vs. MAMERTO S. RIBO, protestee-appellee.

FACTS

Bernardo Torres filed an election protest against Mamerto Ribo. The Court of First Instance of Leyte declared Ribo elected as Provincial Governor and sentenced Torres to pay the “costas y gastos incidentales.” This decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. After the judgment became final, Ribo filed a “bill of expenses and costs” totaling P8,220.50. The lower court disallowed the items for attorney’s fees (P5,000) and expenses for Ribo’s brief (P200), but approved the other items totaling P3,020.50. Torres’s motion for reconsideration was denied, prompting this appeal.

ISSUE

Whether the lower court erred in allowing specific items (commissioners’ fees, transcript of stenographic notes, and expenses for the protestee’s brief in the counter-protest) as recoverable costs under the applicable rules and statutes.

RULING

The appealed order is modified. The commissioners’ fees (P2,008) are proper expenses under section 180 of the Revised Election Code, as they are incident to the recanvassing of ballots and analogous to taxable commissioner fees in other actions. However, the items for the stenographic transcript (P375) and the brief in the counter-protest (P125) are disallowed. Section 11, Rule 131 of the Rules of Court expressly prohibits allowances for briefs, and the transcript is part of the court record available to the parties. The court also rejected the appellant’s argument that costs should be divided because the protest reduced the appellee’s majority, noting that the appellee still won by 423 votes and costs are generally assessed against the losing party under section 180, with discretion for equitable division only for special reasons. The order is modified accordingly, without costs.