G.R. No. L-28561 July 8, 1968
BARNEY FRENCH, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and TOMAS BAYAN, respondents.

FACTS

In the November 14, 1967 election for mayor of Polomolok, Southern Cotabato, petitioner Barney French (Nacionalista Party) opposed respondent and re-electionist Tomas Bayan. The original Municipal Board of Canvassers, except its Chairman, failed to appear for the canvass on November 27, 1967, as directed by COMELEC. The COMELEC representative suspended the absent members, appointed substitutes, and the reconstituted Board canvassed the returns from the Municipal Treasurer and proclaimed Barney French and others as the winning candidates. On November 30, 1967, the original board (with some substitutes) conducted a second canvass without COMELEC supervision and proclaimed Tomas Bayan as the winner. Bayan petitioned COMELEC to annul the first canvass. On December 27, 1967, COMELEC annulled both proclamations and ordered the official Board to reconvene and recanvass using the Municipal Treasurer’s copies of the returns, with the COMELEC copies as reference, and allowed parties to resort to a judicial recount in case of discrepancy.
During the recanvass on January 2, 1968, COMELEC supervisors discovered anomalies: all three keys to the ballot box containing the returns were in the Municipal Treasurer’s possession (contrary to law), one metal seal was missing and found inside the box, and the pin on the box cover was loose. Discrepancies were found between the Municipal Treasurer’s copies and the COMELEC copies for Precincts Nos. 9, 10, and 11, showing increased votes for Bayan in the Treasurer’s copies. The canvass was suspended. COMELEC supervisors reported the anomalies and recommended using COMELEC copies. Despite this, COMELEC, on January 11 and 23, 1968, resolved to resume the canvass at the original location, allowing aggrieved parties to seek judicial relief for discrepancies, and later ordered that proclamation be withheld. Barney French petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari to set aside these COMELEC resolutions and to compel the use of COMELEC copies for the canvass, arguing the Treasurer’s copies were tampered with after the first canvass.

ISSUE

Whether the Commission on Elections committed a grave abuse of discretion in ordering the resumption of the canvass based on the Municipal Treasurer’s copies of the election returns despite conclusive evidence that said copies for at least three precincts had been tampered with and falsified.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court granted the writ of certiorari, revoked the contested COMELEC resolutions dated January 11 and 23, 1968, and ordered COMELEC to direct the prompt resumption of the canvass for the municipal officers of Polomolok, Southern Cotabato, based on the copies of the Commission on Elections.
The Court found conclusive evidence that the Municipal Treasurer’s copies of the returns for Precincts Nos. 9, 10, and 11 were altered after the first canvass on November 27, 1967, to increase the votes for respondent Tomas Bayan. This was proven by the undisputed fact that during the first canvass, the votes for Bayan in the Treasurer’s copies matched the COMELEC copies, but during the recanvass on January 2, 1968, the Treasurer’s copies showed higher numbers. The supporting circumstances (all keys in one person’s possession, missing seal, loose pin) reinforced the conclusion of tampering. COMELEC’s insistence on using the possibly tampered returns and relegating the parties to judicial recount constituted a plain abuse of discretion, as it ignored its primary duty to ascertain the authenticity of returns. Following precedents (Espino vs. Zaldivar and Ong vs. Commission on Elections), the Court ruled that a falsified return amounts to no return at all, and canvassing must be based on authentic copies. The condition that a discrepancy must affect the election result to warrant action does not apply to tampered returns, as they are fraudulent attempts to thwart the popular will. The tampering of three precincts cast doubt on the reliability of all the Treasurer’s copies, justifying the use of the unquestionably authentic COMELEC copies for a definitive count.