GR 165691; (June, 2005) (Digest)
G.R. No. 165691 ; June 22, 2005
ROBERT Z. BARBERS, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, NATIONAL BOARD OF CANVASSERS FOR SENATORS AND PARTY-LIST REPRESENTATIVES, and RODOLFO G. BIAZON, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Robert Z. Barbers and respondent Rodolfo G. Biazon were candidates for Senator in the May 10, 2004 elections. The COMELEC, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBC), proclaimed the first eleven winning senators on May 24, 2004. On June 2, 2004, the NBC proclaimed Biazon as the 12th winning senator after canvassing supplemental Certificates of Canvass, showing he led Barbers by 10,685 votes. The NBC held that the remaining uncanvassed votes and the results of pending special elections would not materially affect this lead.
Barbers filed a petition with the COMELEC to annul Biazon’s proclamation, arguing it was illegal and premature for being based on an incomplete canvass. The COMELEC Special Division denied the petition, and the COMELEC en banc denied Barbers’ motion for reconsideration. Barbers then elevated the case to the Supreme Court via certiorari, contending the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion in affirming a proclamation based on an incomplete canvass.
ISSUE
Whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the petition challenging the proclamation of a Senator, and whether the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion in proclaiming Biazon based on a canvass it deemed substantially complete.
RULING
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction. The legal logic is anchored on the doctrine of constitutional separation of jurisdictions over electoral matters. Under Article VI, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution , the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) is the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of Senators. Once a candidate for Senator has been proclaimed and has taken his oath of office, any subsequent dispute regarding his election, including questions on the validity of his proclamation based on the canvass of returns, falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the SET. Since Biazon had been proclaimed and had assumed office, the proper remedy for Barbers was to file an electoral protest with the SET, not a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court.
Furthermore, the Court found no grave abuse of discretion by the COMELEC to warrant the extraordinary writ of certiorari. Grave abuse of discretion implies a capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment equivalent to lack of jurisdiction. The COMELEC, as the NBC, is vested with the discretion to determine when a canvass is complete and a proclamation warranted. Its finding that the uncanvassed votes and results of special elections would not materially affect the outcome, given Biazon’s lead of over ten thousand votes, was a factual determination within its authority and not undertaken with grave abuse. Thus, the Supreme Court could not interfere.