GR L 25656; (May, 1967) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-25656 May 31, 1967
NAZARIO NALOG, ET AL., protestants. NAZARIO NALOG, protestant-appellee, vs. NEMESIO DE GUZMAN, ET AL., protestees. NEMESIO DE GUZMAN, protestee-appellant.
FACTS
During the November 12, 1963 elections, Nazario Nalog and Nemesio de Guzman were candidates for Vice-Mayor of Antipolo, Rizal. The municipal board of canvassers proclaimed De Guzman elected with a plurality of five (5) votes. Nalog filed an election protest (Election Case No. 7921) with the Court of First Instance of Rizal. After a joint hearing with another election case, the lower court declared Nalog elected with 2,048 votes against De Guzman’s 2,038 votes, a plurality of ten (10) votes. De Guzman appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
The primary issue is the correctness of the lower court’s appreciation of contested ballots, specifically whether certain ballots credited to Nalog should be considered stray or marked, and whether certain ballots for De Guzman were improperly invalidated, thereby determining the true winner of the vice-mayoral election.
RULING
The Supreme Court modified the decision of the lower court. It held that the appeal was properly before it as it involved questions of law. On the merits, the Court reviewed the contested ballots:
1. It deducted nine (9) votes from Nalog’s total: Seven (7) ballots (Exhs. NN-171, NN-180, NN-185, NN-191, NN-192, NN-197, NN-206) where Nalog’s name was written in a space for councilor were declared stray votes under the law. One ballot (Exh. NN-188) where “N. Nalog” was crossed out was not counted. One ballot (Exh. NG-99) with a sticker bearing “NALOG” was declared marked and void.
2. It sustained the lower court’s ruling on other contested ballots, finding no reversible error regarding claims of fingerprints, markings, or ballots written by two persons, as these were largely questions of fact beyond review. It also upheld the ruling that votes for De Guzman written in spaces other than for vice-mayor were stray and should not be counted.
Consequently, Nalog’s votes were reduced from 2,048 to 2,039, giving him a plurality of one (1) vote over De Guzman’s 2,038 votes. The Supreme Court affirmed Nalog’s election as Vice-Mayor.