G.R. No. L-17850 & L-17851; November 28, 1964
JOSE MALIMIT, protestant-appellant, vs. ESTEBAN DEGAMO, protestee-appellee.

FACTS

Jose Malimit and Esteban Degamo were candidates for mayor of Carmen, Agusan in the 1959 elections. After a contested canvass, a reconstituted municipal board of canvassers proclaimed Degamo as mayor-elect on December 7, 1959. Malimit subsequently filed a petition for quo warranto and an election protest in the Court of First Instance of Agusan.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court correctly dismissed the quo warranto petition for being filed out of time and the election protest for failure to prosecute.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal. On the quo warranto petition, the Court held that it was filed beyond the one-week period prescribed by Section 173 of the Revised Election Code. While the petition was mailed on December 14, 1959, the docket fee was paid only on January 5, 1960. The date of payment of the docket fee, not the date of mailing, is considered the date of filing for purposes of docketing, and the case is not deemed duly registered until such payment. Since Degamo was proclaimed on December 7, 1959, the petition filed on January 5, 1960 was untimely. On the election protest, the Court found it was dismissed due to Malimit’s failure to prosecute, not for lack of jurisdiction.